second life process shots

examples of good branding

PUMA
-reliable product
-user friendly website- helps to build customer interest and trust . website is clearly and linearly designed, matches the product, straightforward solid design.
-continuing relationships with other established designers (Alexander McQueen) add to credibility of brand and product.
-Puma designs a variety of products same design aesthetic and quality is consistent.
-Detail oriented, in design and in sale. (email after order telling you you are cool and confident, who doesn't like to hear that)



CONVERSE
-Chuck Taylor/One Star logo instantly recognizable
-Longevity of the traditional Chuck taylor style has built customer trust
-Product is reliable and consistent
-Wide variety of product choice/ diverse design within each style makes buyer want to buy numerous items, even within the same style of shoe or apparel
-100 artists/100 visions for a better world- artists seek to work with converse because of its high profile and credibility
-design your own shoe feature engages customer

















ARTHUR HASH
-consistency of product
-cohesive and recognizable design aesthetic
-product appearance in a variety of venues
-packaging consistent with design aesthetic, additional piece for consumer, added product encouraging customer to buy again because of exceeded expectation





























KID ROBOT
- consistent design aesthetic
- consistent product quality
- collection of sets, mystery, motivates customers to buy numerous items
- recognizable logo and typeface






















DOSH WALLETS
-they are beautiful
-website is inviting, informative
-consistent design aesthetic
-components of wallet are consistent, and distinctive (size, design of compartments)















































KARIM RASHID
-consistent design aesthetic
-recognizable across a very wide variety of products
-clear design mission
-desire to incorporate good design into the average individual's daily life






































BANKSY
-mystery of identity of designer creates interest
-cohesive design aesthetic, content of work
-social commentary many times including humor
-presentation consistant































MARCEL WANDERS
-Marcel Wanders experience
-variety of products
-distinctive design qualities
-product includes story, information about design process making customers interested in product
-unexpected material choice, unexpected process of creating product















































MEGAN AUMAN
-material choice is a large part of brand, memorable within market work is placed in
-recognizable imagery
-design aesthetic is recognizable across a variety of objects
-the product is desirable in numerous venues














































TORD BOONTJE
- easily recognizable design aesthetic/imagery
- consistency across a variety of products
- just in using website there is a sense of being in tord boontje world
- detail oriented in terms of product quality and total presentation of product








































APPLE
TIMBUK2
IN CASE
ALESSI
DAMIAN HIRST
TOM DIXON
FRANK GHERY
LUCY AND BART

i'm envisioning this project having two phases. Phase 1 is having the jewelry rapid prototyped, and the phase 2 being getting those forms molded and cast in some kind of green material. Getting the forms cast out of cork would be great, not sure if that will be able to be accomplished or not. there really is not anything i have found cast out of cork on a jewelry scale, which is great if i can figure out how to make this happen, but also is sort of unhelpful because there is not really a precedent to follow. Some type of ecoresin would also be an option. if i could get things cast out of cork it seems like the aesthetic and the material the jewelry is made out of could work as a design boom product, depending on cost. Also i feel like jewelry made out of cork or ecoresin could maybe work in a setting like the charles and marie design site. that site really seems to favor clean concise design. I really like alot of items on that site.

i'm going to be adding to this post.

research on rapid prototyped jewelry

As a starting point I have looked at the work of Phil Carrizzi, Doug Bucci, Rebecca Strezlec, Janet Huddie, and Anthony Tammaro. Basically I am looking for the type of forms that resonate the most with me, in relation to the material that they are printed with. Meaning, I'm taking note of the scale, thickness, and amount of detail in a piece and looking at the finish or material in relation to those elements. Aspects like transparency of the material, build pattern, or finish, whether it is just sanded or polished. I talked to Janet via email about her experience and she reminded me of the importance of checking a specific material's capability for detail, which will be important with the forms I am creating. It seems like different materials have a more pronounced build pattern, although some of the work I looked at has been through sanding or other finishing process after being built.

i'm going to continue to add to this post

design and production

My original plan for the design and production product line project was to get drawings that i have already been working on laser cut out of steel to produce a jewelry line. I really like the drawings that I have worked out, but I felt a little bored with only taking them the one step further. Simply getting the forms laser cut instead of cutting them out by hand. I think that the drawings I have could be really interesting interpreted 3 dimensionally. I'm in the process of using the same shapes and modeling a jewelry line in Rhino which will then be rp'd. I'm thinking to then to make molds of the rp'd work and have pieces cast in some kind of green material. As of now I'm not sure what exactly the price point of this jewelry will be, there are too many production cost unknowns, although I do have approximations based off the known production costs of other rp'd objects.

I really want this wallet. It's silicone, so its flexible, and it has compartments for everything. I like it. It is designed by Steven Gates.

Did you know that Graham Hill, the founder of treehugger is on Ponoko's advisory board? I didn't know that. Kind of interesting.

i just bought a sweet new book

This book in.tangible/scapes.s is the new addictlab designer compilation book. This volume is about "innovative technologies applications". This is a sum up of the topics the book discusses."Innovative technologies’ applications landscape is an infinite, intangible and often mysterious domain. “Artscience”, bio-art, nano-design, interactive design, experience design, alternative energy, applications on the borders of design and science emergency design and tools, eco-materials, biodegradable plastic, health & security. Science and creativity, science for all, open sources… Sustainable development needs R&D. Scientific research needs innovation and imagination: an ideal bridge to foster cross-disciplinary exchanges and spread out scientific and technologies development." Sounds cool. There are collaborations in the book with MOMA, Domus Academy, Philips, V2, Science Gallery Dublin, and Design Incubation Centre Singapore. I don't know anything about some of these organizations so I'm going to go do some research.

sometimes i get frustrated because there is so much to know and so much to do. i can't move fast enough. i'm really glad i want to keep trying.

example of laser cut cork

I have read precise detail is possible when laser cutting cork, although there is a slight charring on the edges of the cuts.

project green design

i am making a set of cork bracelets cut out of 1/8 inch cork which I am then dyeing various colors. (pictures to come)I have researched other cork jewelry and also cork objects-bowls, chairs, stools. So far I found a few pieces of cork jewelry on Klimt02 that are interesting, although they are a different type of work than what I am making. I also liked the cork cuff from Studio 1am that was on project/object some months back. This work really is the only that has appealed to me, much of the other work i saw was not very innovative, I found that alot of people use wine corks to make jewelry in a very uninteresting way.
Below are
José Carlos Marques
Necklace: Square Root 2007
Cork

Gisela Ribeiro
Necklace: Galáxia 2007
Cork, silver, steel

Leonor Hipólito
Pendant: Transplant. Stomach 2007
Cork, polyester

Eija Mustonen
Brooch: Untitled 2007
Textile cork, silver

my brother is a dramatization actor!

my brother ben and his boyfriend ernie got parts in the reenactment of a woman's murder on some animal tv show. ernie plays one of the murderers, and my brother plays the parts of a volunteer searching for the body(the woman was dead in the desert) and then later the part of a forensics lab scientist.

jesus opened up a restaurant a couple miles from my parents house....i'm just saying

good quote

..."If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves."-BB

Design

There is an extreme amount of good design coming out of Western Europe, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany, so much so I’ve had a hard time really organizing information, every design site or event or designer leads to a ton of other links and cool stuff. I guess that’s one the benefits of blogging about it, I can always go back and add more info, keep a running record of research-sort of the point of a blog I know. In the way of Belgian designers, I’ve liked looking at the work of Dries Verbruggen, Hans-Christian Karlberg, and Arne Quinze, Raphael Charles, and the series of reMix objects. Designers I’ve looked at from the Netherlands are Bart Hess, Esther De Groot, Kiki Van Eijk, and Saar Oosterhof, and the Material Sense group. From Germany I liked the work of Anna Borman &Selma Serman, and Marc Mann. From France I looked at Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, and Phillipe Starck. I also liked Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola’s furniture line, Urquiola being a Spanish designer working in Italy.

Design

Dries Verbruggen and Claire Warrier created the Unfold Project, and is an ongoing investigation involving 3D mapping of the human body. These computer generated maps are then translated into flat planar patterns that are later fit back together like a puzzle. The research resulted in a line of jewelry which due to the way it is constructed is reflective of an individual's unique body structure. They also created a chair design that can be seen on designboom that is constructed by punching out flat cardboard pieces and then fitting them together to form an Eames-like chair.



http://www.hck.be/
Hans Christian Karlberg created a line of furniture I like which incorporates forms that are used in prosthetics. The tables and chairs he designs are sort of nondescript other than one or two elements added that are directly taken from prosthetics. This line is meant to bring attention to the people that require these devices, to make their illness or illness in general something that is not covered up and hidden.


Raphael Charles
vases made from 35mm film, resin and polyurethane





The ReMix series of objects are created from discarded or broken objects that are reworked into objects of with a new and sometimes probably more useful purpose. The main mission of this series is to promote a sustainable lifestyle by creatively reusing existing objects and materials. I couldn't find any pictures online at all of the work, its in one of my addict lab books, which i will let people look at anytime.






Bart Hess is a designer from the Netherlands who merges technology and fashion. His work melds form into the contours of the body, making it look as though his forms are growing outward from the body. Hess is working with Phillips design probes team to create a concept called Electronic Tattoo in which a tattoo "traverses across the landscape of the body moving and morphing with touch and gesture".

Ted Muehling

Ted Muehling is an American designer who studied industrial design at Pratt University and has been been designing for over twenty years . Muehling's designs are mainly inspired by nature like plantlife, insects, and shells, and take the form of jewelry, candlesticks, bowls, vases, salt and pepper shakers, and dishes. Muehling has designed for Lobmeyr Glassworks, Porzellan-Manufactur Nymphenburg, and Steuben Glass. His work has been shown numerous times at the Cooper-Hewitt, the Renwick, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Muehling's designs reference the natural objects he is inspired by through distilled form and decoration. Muehling's work as described by Akiko Busch in an article for Metalsmith "tends to reflect his training as a jeweler; there is a deep connection with the human form, an engagement with and awareness of the body."

Tord Boontje

Tord Boontje is a designer from the Netherlands. Studio Tord Boontje produces a wide variety of objects in many areas of design such as packaging, interior design, furniture, jewelry, greeting cards, textiles, tableware, watches and eyewear. Boontje has worked with Droog,has done work for Swarovski along with Alexander McQueen, created pieces for Target stores, collaborated with the textile company Maharam, and has worked with Artecnica, a design group that focuses on meleding art and technology. Boontje acknowleges and utilizes new technologies in the construction of many of his objects. The use of technology is not utilized to exalt the process, but used as a means to create work that is considerate of the user's physical and aesthetic needs. Technology isn't used just because its available and can be used, its used in a way that furthers Boontje's ideas. This is can be seen in Boontje's Inflorescence collection. Like most of his work, this series of drawings is inspired by nature, this grouping of work is described on Boontje's website as "an experiment to see how the computer can be used to draw flower patterns". The patterns are randomly generated, and can then later be used to create 3-D objects using technological processes such as stereolithography.

Marti Giuxe

Marti Guixe is a Spanish designer who creates a variety of objects, including furniture, clothing, games, and objects for the home. Guixe has also had a long working relationship with the Spanish shoe company Camper, and has designed numerous stores for them. Guixe also has designed some objects with the Droog collective such as the Do Scratch lamp, the Private Chair, and the Do Frame tape. Guixe first studied Interior design and then went on the study Industrial design at Milan Polytechnic. Guixe also does a variety of food projects. Each of these projects are designed in such a way as to give the user information about what they are eating, cues to when they should eat what item and during what activity, and instructions on how to go through the process of eating. Most of Guixe's designs are in some way humorous, and seem to cut straight to the object's function, keeping the user and their needs in the forefront. Guixe seems to design objects based on the human need for the object, whether it be physical or emotional, many times paring down unecessary design elements or considerations. Many of Guixe's objects, the method in which they are designed, employ a directness that gives the user a more intimate reltionship with the object.

a few Dutch designers

Core 77 listed the 10 upcoming Dutch designers to look for, among those whose work interested me the most are Yvonne Laurysen, Thjis Bakker, and Fredrik Roije.
Yvonne Laurysen works mainly with textiles, her working process relies heavily on experimentation with materials. Her Cell rugs are constructed of pressed industrial wool, creating cell-like patterns referencing her interest in science/molecules and cell stucture. Laurysen along with Erik Mantel make up LAMA, which sells Laurysen's textile works, and Mantel's furniture designs. Laurysen and Mantel also developed a new alternative material to fur, Furore. This material is porous and is described as being similiar to expanded metal. There is also information about Furore on www.transmaterial.net.
Thijs Bakker seems to be best known for his Concrete Chair, a chair Bakker designed in response to a self-imposed set of design constarints, the chair had to include concrete, but still be lightweight, apparently Dutch law indicates that chairs cannot weigh more than 25kg. Bakker soved the problem by using a plastic foam and then dipping it in concrete which gave him the result he wanted.
Fredrick Roije has worked for Droog, and also has his own design studio Roije. His collection of Spineless lamps is particularly interesting to me, each are unique in their form, but they are part of line. Roije produces this on a larger scale while still maintaining one of a kind features in each piece.