Keep making and don't stop thinking.
From this documentary, I have learned that failing is not a bad thing. Even if you fail so hard that you don't know how to fix it, you should still keep making and creating new ideas. It is fine if your idea fails, but keep on trying to make new ideas until you see a connection. Stopping to figure out the problem sometimes doesn't work. When that happens, just keep moving. It is always a good idea to keep the thought process going.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Materials - Metals
Ferrous - Metals that are magnetic, and contain a certain amount of Iron.
Non Ferrous - Metals that do not contain a noticeable amount of Iron.
Alloy - Metals combined to form a metal with different properties.
Ferrous
Iron - a sturdy, heavy material usually used as some sort of fastener part or the structure of something big (buildings)
Steel - a ferrous, malleable metal that more purposes and can be used on a variety of heavy duty parts.
Non Ferrous
Aluminum Alloy - a non ferrous metal that is lightweight and is incredibly malleable. Used in cans, and parts that have to be thin and lightweight.
Magnesium Alloy- metal with a high weight-strength ratio. Can be reused in lots of cycles. Used for cast parts, or welding.
Titanium Alloys - Three kinds of titanium: Alpha, Alpha-Beta, Beta. Each has varying traits regarding heat treatment and welding traits.
Zinc - Mostly used for protective coating, due to its lack of strength.
Copper Alloys - good conductive properties, and does not corrode easily. Lacks strength in high temperatures.
Nickel Alloys - Incredibily strong metal, one of the highest in strength under high temperature. Useful in structures.
Lead and Tin Alloys - Incredibly malleble metals, metals that can be used for soldering or as an alloy.
Precious Metals - Most common ones are gold and silver. used as coatings or in jewelery and products that convey luxury.
Non Ferrous - Metals that do not contain a noticeable amount of Iron.
Alloy - Metals combined to form a metal with different properties.
Ferrous
Iron - a sturdy, heavy material usually used as some sort of fastener part or the structure of something big (buildings)
Steel - a ferrous, malleable metal that more purposes and can be used on a variety of heavy duty parts.
Non Ferrous
Aluminum Alloy - a non ferrous metal that is lightweight and is incredibly malleable. Used in cans, and parts that have to be thin and lightweight.
Magnesium Alloy- metal with a high weight-strength ratio. Can be reused in lots of cycles. Used for cast parts, or welding.
Titanium Alloys - Three kinds of titanium: Alpha, Alpha-Beta, Beta. Each has varying traits regarding heat treatment and welding traits.
Zinc - Mostly used for protective coating, due to its lack of strength.
Copper Alloys - good conductive properties, and does not corrode easily. Lacks strength in high temperatures.
Nickel Alloys - Incredibily strong metal, one of the highest in strength under high temperature. Useful in structures.
Lead and Tin Alloys - Incredibly malleble metals, metals that can be used for soldering or as an alloy.
Precious Metals - Most common ones are gold and silver. used as coatings or in jewelery and products that convey luxury.
What Influences Product Design? - Reflection
Product Design is influences by a multitude of things. Some of these factors include the market, technology, sustainability, economics, aesthetics and industrial design, product life, and evolution. Though it is a very long list, these are all things that influence a customer's likelihood of purchasing a product. For example, some people are going to prefer the wristwatch over a pocket watch and vice versa. The pocket watch has a certain aesthetic that some people may like. The wristwatch might be more preferred because of the technology and how it is easier to carry around. The job of the designer is to find the target market they want to sell this item towards, and provide theses factors into the designing of the product to increase the chances that the consumer will buy your product.
Function & Personality - Reflection
Most designed objects serve some sort of functional purpose, such as making phone calls or get us from place to place. Then there are ones that are just symbolic or decorative, such as a painting, or a sculpture. However, what a designer should really strive for is to blend the two, and to not focus too much on either. There may be appeal if there is one of the aspects, but sometimes that does not draw enough appeal for the consumer to purchase it. If there is both, the consumer is more likely to think it is "worth their money". Hence, a designed product should have a defined functional purpose, and also provide a sense of personality that gives delight to the consumer other than its primary function.
Field Trip - Zahner
Zahner is an engineering design consultancy and fabrication shop known for realizing the visions of architects from Frank Gehry to Zaha Hadid. Since its establishment in 1897, the company's engineers and fabricators have been at the forefront of innovative design and fabrication for a variety of artistic disciplines. From the use of aerospace engineering of curving facades to developing and applying patented technologies, innovation is at the core of Zahner. The museum-level craft and engineering that Zahner consistently provides can be found in North and South America, Europe and Asia.
Zahner primarily manufactures projects engineered by its Design Assist team, a practice the company developed in the late 20th century to give clients power to directly control quality, cost, and schedule. Design Assist consistently saves money for owners. This is achieved by expertise, automation strategies, and analytical processes which occur at the beginning of each project.
- azahner.com
Zahner uses a multitude of power tools to achieve the look that the customer wants. Most of what Zahner works with is some form of metal. They use a water jet to perform cuts into the material, special punches that make different shapes onto the surface, and a grand multitude of methods to achieve surface textures that are drastically different from the original material.
Zahner works with prototypes that are at such a grand scale; most of the prototypes are 1/1 scale that are placed right behind the factory. It is amazing to be able to see what more or less what the finished product will look like right in front of you.
Zahner primarily manufactures projects engineered by its Design Assist team, a practice the company developed in the late 20th century to give clients power to directly control quality, cost, and schedule. Design Assist consistently saves money for owners. This is achieved by expertise, automation strategies, and analytical processes which occur at the beginning of each project.
- azahner.com
Zahner uses a multitude of power tools to achieve the look that the customer wants. Most of what Zahner works with is some form of metal. They use a water jet to perform cuts into the material, special punches that make different shapes onto the surface, and a grand multitude of methods to achieve surface textures that are drastically different from the original material.
Zahner works with prototypes that are at such a grand scale; most of the prototypes are 1/1 scale that are placed right behind the factory. It is amazing to be able to see what more or less what the finished product will look like right in front of you.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Sketches of Frank Gehry - Film
Sketches of Frank Gehry is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Sydney Pollack and produced by Ultan Guilfoyle, about the life and work of the Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. The film was screened out of competition at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Pollack and Gehry had been friends and mutual admirers for years. The film features footage of various Gehry-designed buildings, including a hockey arena for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The film includes interviews with other noted figures. - Wikipedia
Frank Gehry has designed a multitude of different buildings, ranging from hockey arenas, museums, to even his own house (which he used extensively as a testbed). His design of architecture is very organic and sometimes even feels impossible (in the case of the Guggenheim Museum). It is so eye catching it has become the defining building of its location.
Throughout the documentary, he uses a method of prototyping that was very fast and clean. This method of prototyping engages the designer team and promotes collaboration. It is definitely a method that should be widely used.
Frank Gehry has designed a multitude of different buildings, ranging from hockey arenas, museums, to even his own house (which he used extensively as a testbed). His design of architecture is very organic and sometimes even feels impossible (in the case of the Guggenheim Museum). It is so eye catching it has become the defining building of its location.
Throughout the documentary, he uses a method of prototyping that was very fast and clean. This method of prototyping engages the designer team and promotes collaboration. It is definitely a method that should be widely used.
Matthias Pliessinig - Hallmark Speaker
Matthias Pliessnig is an acclaimed furniture designer based in Philadelphia whose work uses steam bent wood. His style is "kinetically contemporary" and he uses "computer-aided curves with laborious craftsmanship" to handcraft chairs and benches.
Pliessnig is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Wisconsin (Madison). His interest in woodworking developed after he decided to build a boat and was inspired to apply those techniques, particularly steam bending of wood strips around a mold, to furniture making. The New York Times reported that his studio "looks more akin to a boat-builder’s garage than an icy SoHo loft, which makes sense when you consider the lunular shapes of Pliessnig’s chairs."-Wikipedia
Matthias uses only steam bent wood to achieve the unique forms of furniture he creates. He uses 3D modeling programs as a form of sketching, to get most of the contour lines and the looks of the finished product. All of his work are joined and cut by hand, using lots of clamps to form the shape, and various powered saws to cut the material. The furniture is then finished and sanded by hand, then shipped through handmade boxes that are sturdy and can withstand overseas transportation.
I find it amusing that he encourages us to design and make through traditional processes. He likes the tools of digital modeling, but embraces the skill that goes behind handmade products, which are skills that cannot be replaced by machines.
Pliessnig is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Wisconsin (Madison). His interest in woodworking developed after he decided to build a boat and was inspired to apply those techniques, particularly steam bending of wood strips around a mold, to furniture making. The New York Times reported that his studio "looks more akin to a boat-builder’s garage than an icy SoHo loft, which makes sense when you consider the lunular shapes of Pliessnig’s chairs."-Wikipedia
Matthias uses only steam bent wood to achieve the unique forms of furniture he creates. He uses 3D modeling programs as a form of sketching, to get most of the contour lines and the looks of the finished product. All of his work are joined and cut by hand, using lots of clamps to form the shape, and various powered saws to cut the material. The furniture is then finished and sanded by hand, then shipped through handmade boxes that are sturdy and can withstand overseas transportation.
I find it amusing that he encourages us to design and make through traditional processes. He likes the tools of digital modeling, but embraces the skill that goes behind handmade products, which are skills that cannot be replaced by machines.
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