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.