Coleman Project Part 1

 Group Members:
Be
Chris
Cindy
Ian
Julia
Rachel 
and myself

First things first, I would like to say that working with 6 others plus myself is pretty challenging especially when it comes to agree on something specific because everyone has their own style and opinions. But other than that I personally think we work efficient as a group. We are very organized, open minded, and we thoroughly think through ideas. 

I have actively participated in the discussions and made some personal notes and drawings. I have proposed a couple ideas of bringing the outdoors indoors. I was leaning towards utilizing the natural resources (outdoors) for an appliance. I didn't really go into specific ideas because i wanted to keep an open mind. I feel though the market industry for this isn't really big since people buy appliances every 5 or so years.

To start off, the "Coleman Project," we as a group all went around and brainstormed what we thought Coleman as a company meant to us and to its customers. This was to start the thinking process but not to get stuck on a specific idea for a product. From there we sort of collaborated as a group to get a couple good sentences on what Coleman stands for. From there we each came up with a concept or two on how Coleman can leap into the "indoor goods" market. We then categorized different indoor good markets and we looked for problems within these categories. After that we wanted to identify what demographic the user should be/who we should market to.

Reading Reflection: Heskett Chpt 9-10

The last chapter of Design is the about the future of design. I believe the last couple paragraphs summarize this chapter perfect. If the world is moving in a more technological based society people have to realize that it is designers creating the interfaces and making the technology easier to use for society. So taking that into consideration, design shapes our lives. Also there will always be room for improvement. I think though we need to take advancements in technology into consideration. I think we will be fine until we develop a computer that can think for itself because as of now computers need a user but when computers don't need a user then i think we will start to create problems.

Online Scavenger Hunt

5 Outdoor Product Manufacturers or Retailers:
      www.fieldandstream.com/
      www.coleman.com/ 
      www.columbia.com/
      www.cabelas.com/
      www.thenorthface.com/   

 
5 Indoor Product Manufacturers or Retailers:
      www.whirlpool.com/
      www.keurig.com/
      www.kenmore.com
      www.kitchenaid.com/ 
      www.blackanddeckerappliances.com/

     What is indoor home goods?

Indoor Home goods- would be a product that adds home decor or flare to the inside of a home. This would be anything from a rug, blinds, curtains or furniture to kitchen appliances or cabinets to even lighting. Indoor home goods could be said to be the fashion style of your home, so anything dealing with decorating the home.

 
      

Reading Reflection: Chapters 4-6 Cradle to Cradle

The good thing about the environment is that it will replenish itself naturally but once humans over use an area then it won't go back because of soil erosion and lack of nutrients. Over use of a land is one of the biggest problems we have with the environment. Over use of the land leads to desertification and the cause of over use is because of humans over populating an area. Designing to return them nutrients/products to the environment they came from is a good idea. Feed the environment. I believe designing for the environment will not be done unless companies are willing to pay for it out of their pockets. Companies don't want to lose profit. So the government has to step in but the government has bigger and better issues to worry about.

Guest Lecture

I want to reflect on my personal experience in the design world. I totally agree with what the guys said about your grades. In the design field I think if anyone looks at the grades it is crap. The grades mean your professor likes your work or you do the homework. It doesn't correlate the best with actually how creative you are or how skilled of a designer you are. Thank god for portfolios because then you can actually see the person potential and what type of style designer they are. But to the school you are a simple letter grade which i think is pathetic.

Hidden Letters

Design and the Environment

Geothermal Energy: This video is from 2008 so it is pretty recent. It is about clean renewable energy but how Ireland is unique in how they get this energy, through the ground's heat; geothermal energy. This idea is innovative to say the least. Instead of using what we can see or feel (the sun or the wind) for energy, why not use the heat the Earth's core gives off. The only real damage the harvesting of this energy causes on the environment is the digging into the Earth but other than that its effective.

Sustainable Architecture: This video is about the connection of nature and architecture. More specifically, it deals with sustainable living. Building to harness nature that effectively respects and uses nature to live without relying on city water or etc. It is a connection between biology and architecture. Personally i love this idea. When i visualize the future i think of homes not reliant on the city or companies for utilities. Why not harness what is free and created this world, the sun.

Solar Heating: Solar thermal is the sun heating up a metal plate and it transfers to a heat exchanger which could heat your home there or you can save it for later. It is a quick easy fix. Its a "green" way for hot water. Again I like this because we are utilizing the sun to better us. There is no damage done to the environment and your gas bill will go down.


Helix Wind Turbine: The helix wind turbine is a turbine that is shaped like the DNA helix. Its purpose is to utilize the wind to generate electricity. This design is better than the traditional fan design because no matter where the wind is it'll spin. Also this wind helix is more pleasing on the eyes. It doesn't look like it'll cut you up like a fan blade.


Rural Wind Turbine: This turbine is produced to be put up in residential areas to help people save on electricity. Utilize the wind to save on the bills. This turbine is more vertical than the traditional fan turbine so it can be placed in congested areas. I think that in the long run this would be a good investment especially around my hometown near Lake Erie where there is always a breeze. It is expensive but in the long run it will pay off. Also I'm all for not relying on the city and companies for utilities.

Design and the Environment: Geothermal energy

Design and the Environment: Sustainable Architecture

Design and the Environment: Going Green at Home : How Does Active Solar Heating Work?

Design and the Environment: Helix Wind Turbine

Design and the Environment: New Wind Turbine Design Good for Rural, Urban Environment

A Question of Design

Many people would argue that the Industrial Revolution was a critical point for the design world. The Industrial Revolution changed the way people design. Everything was made to produce in high quantities rather than personal craftsmanship. Not only did production change but the industrial revolution changed how we design today. They didn't really care about the environment like we do today with everything going "green". But that isn't their fault. They didn't have the knowledge we have today to know the effects this industrialization had on the surroundings. But the industrialization answered many questions that we answered by learning from the past. I think if the industrial revolution didn't happen when it did, it would've taken place soon after so regardless it has shape designers in both positive and negative ways and we built on that to get us where we are today.

A remix manifesto

I think the movie really does touch on the point that this sort of "war" between the past generation and this current generation is absurd. The internet was created to share knowledge and cultures/ cultural values. The future is always building on the past. That is what evolution is. If we hadn't built on the past nothing would be as it is today. And now we can't build on the past because of some laws? That is ridiculous. Yes patents were created to encourage invention and the inventor would profit from that for a little time. But there should be different types of patents and/or copyrights because advancing technology can save many lives. I think many individuals have become too greedy rather than really want to help people from an advancement or invention. We should invent for function, not money, to make this world a better place. 14 years on a patent is too much time. If you count up all the people that have ever existed on this world, i guarantee you someone somewhere has thought of "your original thought."

Reading Reflection 5: "This book is not a tree"

This is a step in the right direction. I think making a tree out of a synthetic paper is a step in the right direction but why not make it a leap in the right direction. Why not make book electronic. It would save on paper and yes the argument to that is a book is a book and is meant to be something that is stored in the library and what not but as long as we keep a hard copy in the library and make book electronic we don't have to worry about wasting paper or making them out of recycled material. They would be 100 percent efficient and if you don't want them you can store them on a external hard drive and you could make notes on the page and erase them without effecting the writing or paper.

Course reflection 5: Color

Other than movement, which color can seem to create sometimes, color is what draws people's attention. We associate colors with moods and emotions, so yes color is a very important aspect for designers. Designers use color to classify objects, such as baby toys or anything for baby boys or girls they are specified with "baby blue" or "light pink." The "right color" can make or break a product. The new advances in technology have enabled us designers to play with designs without altering the product in actual form.  Computers have broadened the creativity of designers, some things the human hand isn't capable of doing and with computers these some things are possible.