Task 5: Video Reflections, Designing Dream Machines

The video demonstrated the whole process of how products are introduced into the market, from when the client gives the design firm the brief to when the product is available to the consumer.

The video shows that we cannot just design what and how we want to if we are working for someone else, but that the client must always be kept in mind and referred back to, such as the new Phantom bike, and that it has to have a similar style to BSA’s previous designs, and “be true” to the original design. When they presented the renderings to their client, they had in mind what design they preferred, but the clients had a totally different say of which bikes they preferred and what was suitable to their market, shocking the designers. They believe one of the designs is “too modern”, almost overly sophisticated. This proves the important of having many designs, so that the client has many alternative options to choose from. It shows why some designers don’t work for other design firms because they can’t always design how they want to, but are restricted to the brief, the target market and what the client thinks is best, even if there is a disagreement, they are still forced to go along with the client’s decision.

When the designer’s presented their food processor and kettle to the client and their reaction towards the products seemed as if they did not really like it, it was so dis-heartening, as the design group’s whole journey of creating the products spanned over 4 months, and they demonstrated all their hard work, only to be let down by the client. It is similar to how we work on our assignments for 3/4 weeks and present it for a couple minutes. I guess it’s better for us, because we get feedback every week in order for us to keep improving our designs, so that we are not completely shut down when we present our designs. For the guys designing the new Phantom (Bantem?), however, their client didn’t show up to review their clay model. This caused them to lose time because the sooner they can get their client to approve it, the sooner they can get a new client. They just had to continue on with creating the final product, which was risky, seeing as the client may want some final adjustments still.

The video emphasises the importance of research in a project, as demonstrated with the scooter design for customers in India. I like how they have gone all the way to India to observe and record the use of the scooter, to find that they are used differently in India, and are of great importance in people’s lives. They discovery that the scooters must be able to hold a family, with the mother and child on the scooter as well and an area for long objects to be placed, forced them to take this into consideration when designing. Also, they found that instead of design leading towards more and more curvilinear and organic shapes like in the states and Australia for example, in India, the more fashionable bikes were the ones that had sharp rigid edges, which surprised me. This could be because India has not been as exposed to design elsewhere, and vice versa. The video was made a while ago, so maybe it has changed, as people are more aware of the environment and nature.

I was surprised how fast and easy it was for them to come up with ideas on what to design when they were brainstorming on home appliances for T-File. I guess working in a group and brainstorming like this allows them to feed off each other, as one idea leads to another. Through the problems they recognised, they designed things that would solve these problems. Compared to the designing of the bike, it seemed like they had more freedom to design it how they wanted to, not having to stick to so many restrictions or to have a broader brief on what to do. This could have been because less money was involved in releasing these 2 products, or simply because the video didn’t show us that part of the design process.

Postal Presents - Jazzle! - The Toothbrush Rack

The above images were presented as a back-to-front folded A4 page to be put in the receiver’s C4 envelope.

Function

The main function is to act as a toothbrush stand that separates each toothbrush and allows water to drip off the toothbrushes through the stand. It is flat-packed to be used for travelling families, is lightweight and does not take up much room. It could be sent as a Bon-Voyage gift to a family.

 

Target audience

The target audience of the product is young children because it’s kind of like a puzzle. Hence the round parts of the pieces, when in flat form are similar to that of puzzle pieces. It could act as an interactive product between young children when having sleepovers. The product consists of a highly interactive set-up for the child, as they can have fun with it. It allows individuality as they can choose what colours to use and how many pieces they want to use, depending on how many people there are. It can also be used for other objects such as stationary, as shown in the image.

 

Reason for chosen colours, form, and sheet material

Polypropylene was used in the design because it is waterproof, and is flexible enough to be bent in this loop shape and is durable, hence having a long lifespan. It’s also very light to be sent to someone, hence saving money for the user. Translucent material is used so that the light in the morning can shine through it, and partially show part of the object standing inside it.

 

Research

There aren’t many flat-pack toothbrush stands on the market, but the one I found, designed for Colgate, requires the bristles to lean on the stand to be held up. This would mean that the brush would take longer to dry because part of the contact with the plastic. Also, the plastic used is a bit too thick to be mailed in an envelope easily. 

Task 5: Video Reflections, Annie Leonard: The Story of Stuff

Major take home messages from the video would be that the money from the products that are sold, do not pay for everything that went into the process of making it, such as people who manufacture the goods are not getting paid enough in some countries. Although all we see is the buying and selling of goods, there is so much more to the process of getting a product to the buyer. 

As the video is not so much about industrial design, but more the bigger picture, it suggests that our products that we design should strive towards being more environmentally friendly and avoid designing objects that are planned for obsolescence. We should influence the consumers to steer away from this want for products that are to be bought then disposed of, even if it is perfectly useful, by designing things that are timeless, and would be appreciated in many years to come. An example of bad design towards the environment are those juice packs mentioned in the video and how they are made of inseparable materials such as foil and paper or something all merged together, making it impossible to recycle. The part about obsolescence, both planned and perceived is also warning the viewer against consumerism, and constantly buying things unnecessarily.

My opinion about design has changed by giving me an insight into the bigger picture, and how the design of a product affects the world, and this linear cycle that we must develop to become a cyclic cycle. The problem with the cycle is that we are using up all our resources and destroying our planet. It shows why the whole design world is becoming more environmentally friendly. 

Experience Enrichment: Toothpaste Squeezer

My product’s function is to squeeze every last drop of toothpaste out of the tube easily with one hand, as the toothpaste is being applied onto the toothbrush with the other hand. The symmetry of the form allows the user to be able to use it with their right or left hand, and the slit forces the toothpaste tube to be positioned so that a thick or thin finger can use it and also someone who has long nails. It is small enough to be held and quite a dainty sized product in order to attract a female to it, as opposed to something that is overly bulky. Through research, the widest toothpaste tube that I came across was McCleans’s tube which is 55mm wide, so I made the slit 57mm wide.

The blue rubber grip would be made of thermoplastic elastomer so that when the user’s hand is wet the tactile material allows the finger to grip on to it. The rest of the body would be made of polypropylene because it is light and cheap and possibly inexpensive to manufacture by injection moulding. Off white was chosen as the main colour in the design because it is to be used in the bathroom, and off white would allow it to be of a similar colour to its environment. The light blue was chosen because it is a calming colour and best represents the water element.

One of my very first ideas was this huge round thing where the knob is turned to squeeze the toothpaste out. I researched similar products on the market but they either had to be controlled with both hands or if they were controlled with one hand, there were complicated mechanisms that would cost more to manufacture and produce for this target market. I figured, since it is an easy motion of squeezing toothpaste, there should not be an over complicated product to achieve it. I explored ways of solving the problem of getting the toothpaste out with one hand, and ended up simplifying the initial design completely to what is shown now.