I think I'm turning Japanese

I found this site while doing research for a tea kettle project. I don't know if it's a store or a company because the site is in Japanese but I really like their stuff.

Self Evaluation

So, I've reviewed my goals from the beginning of the quarter and I can cross one off my list. I'm finally comfortable with SolidWorks! Redstripe is beer. Hooray beer!

I can bend spoons with my mind

Ok, maybe I can't bend spoons with my mind but I can goof off with the best of them. I'm starting to realize that while it was a liability in high school my warped sense of humor and skewed view of life are now part of my strength as a designer. I've found that I'm more excited about projects when the ideas stem from a silly place in my head rather than a marketing report on my computer screen. If I can incorporate that wackiness into my future projects and reign it in for a somewhat mainstream audience I should be good.

Viva Italia!!

This company is blowing my mind. Their stuff is so delicate and refined.
The forms are beautiful and things like the soup bowl and piggy bank have
a lot of whimsy and wit.

http://www.industreal.it/

Some blogs I like

These are some blogs I'm digging. Each of the designers has great taste and great execution.
Check em out.

http://nickrudemiller.blogspot.com/

http://jacobnitz.blogspot.com/

http://jacquesdistraction.blogspot.com/

Storyboard

These are some storyboards for another project I'm doing.  It's more of an outline for the decision making process behind a computer purchase. The next one will demonstrate the out-of-the-box experience.

Mug shot

Innovation is the progression of an idea or concept. Design thinking is a change to an idea or concept but not necessarily a progression.

Final USB Project

Final render for the USB project we just completed. 

Art Spiegelman

I got mad loot for my Bar Mitzvah. A savings bond here some stock shares there. I got watches, cuff links and more pens than I knew what to do with. All that stuff was great but the gift that meant the most was given to me by a distant cousin. His gift wasn't shiny, it wouldn't appreciate in value and it wouldn't become a family heirloom. He gave me a set of books by Art Spiegelman called Maus. They are his father's tale of survival through the holocaust. Books of this kind were nothing new to me but this one was different. It was done in the form of a graphic novel. It was moving then and it still gets me every time I pick it up. If you haven't read them I highly suggest that you do.

USB Project

I learned a lot on this project. My rendering skills with illustrator are stronger. I can render shiny materials more effectively. I think that photoshop could be integrated into the process to help refine the final image. Things like glows seem to come out better in photoshop.

Good Design

I think good design is a perfect mesh of form and function while still maintaining an emotional connection with the user.

Portfolio pics

Here are some product shots from my portfolio. To view it in it's entirety visit:

http://www.uc.edu/propractice/ind_design/Saldoff_David_10.pdf

YO JOE!

In 1987 a little movie was released that rocked my world. It was the GI Joe movie and it was awesome! I'll spare you the detailed plot outline and focus on one specific part. The Broadcast Energy Transmitter or B.E.T. As the name suggests the machine had the ability to transmit energy over great distances and without the use of wires. This technology would allow armies to operate in remote areas of the world without needing a supply line for power. They would be untethered and unstoppable. Imagine the hell that would have been unleashed onto the world had Cobra Commander or Destro gained control over such a devise. Even now, I shudder to think about it. Anyway, when I was a kid I thought that thing was the shit and as time passed I was surprised at how often I would think about it. Every time I had to put new batteries into a remote or discman I would think, "I wouldn't need to do this if I had a BET." Every time my vacuum cleaner cord prevented me from quickly cleaning my apartment or house, every time my cell phone or ipod died I'd pray for the BET to set me free.

20 years later that prayer was answered. In 2007 scientists lit a 60-watt light bulb from a power source 7 feet away with no physical connection between the source and the appliance. The researchers dubbed their concept "WiTricity" as in "wireless electricity".

I'm also fascinated by nanotechnology. Nanotechnology, which is sometimes shortened to "Nanotech", refers to a field whose theme is the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures of the size 100 nanometers or smaller, and involves developing materials or devices within that size.Nanotechnology is extremely diverse, ranging from novel extensions of conventional device physics, to completely new approaches based upon molecular self-assembly, to developing new materials with dimensions on the nanoscale, even to speculation on whether we can directly control matter on the atomic scale. 

I've saved the best for last. The Shamwow! This thing is amazing!

The perfect trailer

A good teaser should do just that, tease. After a trailer ends I should still have questions about the movie. The first two are perfect examples of this. The third is just funny. Enjoy!

Shaklee's 'green" cleaning products depict home life and natural elements together in surprising ways. Reusable bottles and a sticker system encourage consumers to create their own dilutions from the concentrated products, helping to reduce. I love the idea of clean cleaning products in a clean design. 

Smoke gets in your eyes

I learned a long time ago that a clever phrase paired with a cool image can be a real life saver in the design world. How? By grabbing the audience's attention. Take, for example, this blog entry. I've never blogged before and listing my goals for the quarter would probably make for some pretty dry reading. Add to that the fact that 22 other people have exactly the same assignment and you have the makings of a very forgettable blog entry. So, in order to get the audience to actually stop and read the dull content I put it in a shiny wrapper*.

This same principle applies to project presentations as well. Unfortunately, as professionals we're not always going to be working on amazing products that challenge us or make the world a better place. Sometimes, work is just that...work. It's something you do to pay the bills. Sometimes a client just wants a product. So you give them one. You go through the process and when you reach your final direction it's good and professional and the correct solution to the problem but it's not an earth shattering piece of design. Unless you want to spend the next few months "refining" the design for the client you need a kick-ass presentation. You need to sell your idea. Will you have to blow a little smoke in order to do that?  Maybe a little; but not enough to burn your eyes.

* A piece of shit wrapped in gold is still a piece of shit.