Final Process Book

I've uploaded my final process book for DesComm.

Check it out here.

Design Communication

This quarter, DesComm took on a life of its own. Rather than drilling us with hundereds of pages of sketches, the course took a more real-life approach and gave us projects that utilized knowledge that can be more helpful in the field. Don't get me wrong, I think that sketching is important, but one can't deny the fact that we as designers are moving more and more into the digital realm, and with our 3d software skills improving daily and new product like HyperShot coming out into the mainstream, I can't help but think that the trend will continue.

Winter Quarter 2009

Overall, I think this quarter went well. The sponsored studio was pretty good, although it was definitely tough changing my entire design in week 6-7. My other classes went well... can't complain. I think that my improvement over the course of the quarter can be attributed to DesComm; using underlays and learning Illustrator as a rendering tool were great.
Next quarter, I plan to focus more on moving from concept to reality with more speed and accuracy, as well as being more dilligent in the beginning of the term so that the rest of it goes smoother...

My Strengths

My strength as a designer lies in my 2d rendering abilities. I like to make Photoshop renderings, and I usually try to make them look realistic, but definitely not photorealistic. There is something to be said for using a digital tool to quickly and accurately put color and value onto a sketch. I think its surely one of the most under-used things in the field today; it seems like customers wither want real rough sketches or 3d renderings.

Innovation

I saw a good post on Steve's blog earlier in the quarter about innovation. He said what I have been thinking for a while-- people seem to confuse (or at least interchange) the terms innovation and invention. An innovative product does not need to be an entirely new invention. Yet, it feels sometimes that especially in our field that the two terms are used as one. Something to think about at least...

Mmm... Tea.

The tea kettle that I found in my research this quarter were for the most part disppointingly bland. They all looked the same to me. There were a few exceptions, like this one with an actual idea behind it, but like I said, for the the most part, bland. Disappointingly.

Blogging as a Tool

This has been my first blog, and in all reality, I wouldn't have started it if we hadn't been required to. That being said, I am glad that we were. I think that as a tool for communication in the ever-online world, blogs are fantastic. They can keep anyone up to date on anything, from sports to current events to just random thoughts. However, as a communication tool "for design", I'm not sold. That's not to say that I don't enjoy posting on design or reading everyone else's posts on design, but I don't really think that creating this blog has made me a better designer.

I like having this blog. It gives me a place to share cool stuff and just jot down thoughts.

About those goals...

In my first post on this blog back in January, I listed 3 goals for the quarter. Now, I check in on those goals to rate my progress on them.

Goal 1 : stop procrastinating - I think I've done better this quarter than in any previous quarter on this goal. I've had some distractions during the quarter, but for the most part, all my projects have been ready to go on the due dates with time to spare.

Goal 2 : ask more questions - Again, I have done decently well with this goal. I feel like there will always be more answers to be had, but I've gotten most all the ones that I've needed.

Goal 3 : have more fun - I have had more fun with projects this quarter than in the past. I think that this is a corollary of goal 1... I haven't been as stressed about due dates and stuff, so I've been able to have more fun.

DesComm | Tea Kettle

Our latest project in DesComm is to design a tea kettle. The assignment is pretty open, and the point is really to just design an awesome thing.
My inspiration : the olympic torch.

DesComm | Prelim Storyboards

Here are 2 storyboards for my HP project. The first describes current problems with a PC's out of box experience, and the second describes my proposed solutions. Still a decent amount of kinks and details to work out, but this is my start.

Billiards, anyone?

While we were playing pool the other night, Max mentioned how he thought a glass pool table would be tremendous.

That made me think of this Core77 post from a couple of weeks ago. This Aussie designer Craig Nottage made his sweet senior project into a really sweet reality. Check out the link below.

http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/materialssavvy_designer_turns_senior_project_into_a_company_12518.asp

Xiao Xiao

You might have seen this before, (I first saw it a long time ago... like when-I had-AOL-dial-up long ago) but Mike's comment about stick figures in his email about the storyboard assignment made me think of it.

Xiao Xiao is a series of stick figure action movies (and a few games) by Chinese animator Zhu Zhiqiang. They are outstanding. Pretty cool what you can do with stick figures. Check out the links below for this and more fun stick figure stuff from StickPage.com.

The Movies/Games - http://www.newgrounds.com/collection/xiaoxiao

More stick stuff - http://www.stickpage.com/

DesComm | USB

Here's my process book for a design communications USB flash drive project. Check it out, leave me some comments.

http://www.daapspace.daap.uc.edu/files/download/messerkc/8CrJmZZ3PJNO_2HZI8OmvH2sCWyeUT0sb8fld6Oyh2A

Memory Sticks.

I came across these while I was looking at flash drives. Actual sticks of memory. 2 gigs too; pretty impressive. One problem I have with them: they retail for $119.99.

Nintendo USBs

Nintendo branded USB drives.

Back to it.

Haven't posted in a while... some unforseen things have been going on. But, back to it with this post of my portfolio.

Check it out here.

Who Watches the Watchmen?

The most successful part of this trailer is that it makes me really, really want to know... are the Watchmen good or bad?

It's chock full of all the action and stuff, and of course Zack Snyder is amazing, but that tagline - Who watches the Watchmen - just a superb hook.

To Infiniti... And Beyond!!!

So I started thinking about what brands have effectively communicated their message to me, and this commercial from Inifiniti (M series, 2006) almost immediately popped into my head. It might not be the message they're sending, but how they do it; the sketchy orange lines to show form let the viewer know what's on the screen before they even realize it. I think it serves as a good reminder of how sometimes less (two or three lines in this case) is more, even when you have a lot to convey.

It's worth considering

I was just browsing through DWR, and came across the Cherner armchair. Since the first time I saw it in a catalogue about three years ago, I thought it was the most beautiful chair ever. And after looking through tons of websites, magazines, and catalogues - hundreds and hundreds of chairs later - I'm not sure if I'll ever see one that strikes me like this one. The compund curve of the arms is just so appealing. Beautiful.
On the DesComm side of things, we're into portfolio design. I think that class tonight was useful... The open-discussion style of things feels really appropriate. The portfolio here has a nice little element in my opinion. Numbering pages? So simple, so everyday and mundane on regular documents and books and stuff, but I've never seen it on a portfolio like this. It's really effective and it adds a neat graphic element to each page.
It's worth considering...

First Post

Well, this being my first post and all, I guess I should go through some general info about myself.
I am a native Cincinnatian and live in a town called St. Bernard. I own and live in a condo with my girlfriend Tiffany and our dog Maddy. Lets see... I just turned 22. I like to go out and have a good time with my friends. I play indoor soccer every sunday. I love sports. And food. And beer. I could go on writing this all night, but I'll stop there.

On to DesComm. If I had to give myself three goals for this quarter, they would be as follows (in no particular order):

~ Stop procrastinating. Or at least cut down on it. I would like to be able to breathe toward the end of the quarter.
~ Ask more questions. I know that I need answers. Prelude to answers: questions.
~ Have more fun with it. I tend to look at school assignments as all work and no play. I think that if I try to enjoy said assignments, it'll be a lot easier for me to get into them.

So, that's my first post. Some info, some goals, all good.