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.