CR02 Classes 5-8

Monday April 11th, 2011 - Class 5


In Class 5 we discusses the design process which included methodology and the different types of processes used. The basic overview of the design process can be broken down into five steps: 1. Define the problem, 2. Research the problem, 3. Design cycle, 4. Production, 5. Evaluation.

Define the problem: means to simply state the problem that is in need of a solution. This can include, scope of the project, budget, intended users. The point of this step is to discuss and understand every aspect of the project, this way the designer will not have to make changes down the road for aspects of the job that were not realized.

Research: In this step the designer will research to develop an understanding of the market, codes and legal issues, the client and the user. This step is necessary so the designer knows everything they need to complete the project.

Design cycle: This is the step in the process where the designer will develop concepts and refine them, usually working closely with the client. The Client may offer feedback on the design, tell the designer what they like or dislike or may tell the client to start over. Once the designer and client agree on the design the designer will revise or refine it until they have a final prototype to present to the client.

Production: Once the project enters the production stage the designer will work closely with the manufacturer, printer or builder to make sure what is produced is exactly what the client wants.

Evaluation: Now that the product or space has been produced or built the designer evaluates the design and gets feedback in order to understand if the project was successful. Did the product solve the problem it intended to, are there parts that can be improved or did it create new problems.

The Deep Dive. We finished the lecture with a short film on the company IDEO and their design process. In the film IDEO is given the grueling task of designing a shopping cart that solves the problems of the standard shopping cart, is cheaper to build and friendlier to use by a larger demographic. They are given a 5 day timeline to do this. It was amazing to see the process which IDEO used to, first, identifying the problem and then throwing out different ideas for solutions which IDEO refers to as The Deep Dive. One of the most amazing aspects of the film was how a group as large as the one IDEO had working on the shopping cart project could work together without egos getting in the way. It was a great film to show so the class could better understand the design process.



Wednesday April 13th, 2011 - class 6

In class 6 we discusses designing for accessibility. With more and more people becoming disabled today the idea that everyone no matter the disability should be granted access is becoming more important. The range of disabilities is so great that many new ideas of how to access is also necessary. With visual impairments, audio impairments and mobility issues, designers need to include these people in the discussion when developing a design. This, not only, includes access to buildings but also products and visual designs as well.

The discussion covered ADA which is the Americans with Disabilities Act which states a person should be granted easy access to buildings no matter what the disability. By using ramps to gain entry or door knobs that don't require the dexterity of working hands designers can solve these problems and allow disabled people to enter and use buildings more effectively.

We discusses designing products for universal usage. The concept of Universal Design is to develop products or spaces that can be easily accessed by everyone, no matter the disability.

We finished this lecture with a short film on the development of a smart wheel chair called Hot Wheels. The designer behind the Segway developed an incredible wheel chair which will help the user walk up stairs, or raise to standing height to pick things off of a high shelf. The wheel chair was also designed to be mobile on surfaces standard wheel chairs aren't, like sand and stones. I liked this film because it was a great way to show how design and design thinking can be used to solve problems in our society.


Monday April 18th, 2011 - Class 7

In class 7 we were paired up into our face value groups and sent on a scavenger hunt around campus. My group consisted of Mike Freeze and Ricardo Roberson. We were given five clues which we had to answer and then had to walk around campus and take pictures of the answers to those clues. I liked this assignment because it gave us a chance to work as a team and use problem solving skills but also gave us a chance to get to know the campus as well.


Wednesday April 20th, 2011 - Class 8

We discusses environmental and green design issues in class 8. This was one of my favorite lectures. What I like about this lecture is that it brings us back to the ideas of using design thinking to solve problems and how design is becoming big again. These ideas were briefly touched upon in our first class and I wanted to discuss them further.

By using design thinking we are starting to develop solutions that can benefit people in third world countries. In our country, most of us take for granted our access to health care, clean drinking water and food. In many small countries people are not that lucky but, by utilizing the design process we can develop cheap solutions to help third world countries gain access to the things we take for granted.

We were also introduced to William McDonough one of the authors behind the book Cradle to Cradle which we will be reading in class. His TED talk was amazing especially his ideas of how to rethink the building of cities. His talk coupled with the discussion by Janine Benyus on Biomimicry was a great example of how we can stop wasting our resources and use design to build sustainable products and cities. The Idea in Biomimicry was that animals and insects have been living with their environment and not living in their environment for ages so, we could take examples from nature on how to utilize our resources in a way to live with our environment.

We finished the lecture with two short films highlighting two products developed to solve two important problems in third world countries. Both products were cheap to develop, extremely mobile and solved their specific problem. The first was a water bottle that can filter out even the smallest bacteria to give people clean drinking water where they may not have access to it. The other was a wrap designed to keep premature babies warm so they have the chance to develop, designed for people who may not have access to expensive incubators.