Results tagged “design”

Startups, this is how design works.

A guide for non-designers by Wells Riley.

via Shane Guiter

via mag+

MacRumors reports Samsung's VP for Design is offended by Apple's allegations of copying.

Well, I'm offended at Samsung's VP for Design being offended.

Remember Asia is where they embrace Shanzai.

Shanzhai (Chinese: 山寨; pinyin: shānzhài; alternatively spelt shanzai or shan zhai) refers to Chinese imitation and pirated brands and goods, particularly electronics. Literally "mountain village" or "mountain stronghold", the term refers to the mountain stockades of regional warlords or bandits, far away from official control. "Shanzhai" can also be stretched to refer to people who are lookalikes, low-quality or improved goods, as well as things done in parody.

Yes, I know Shanzai is Chinese and Samsung is a Korean company, but the practice of imitating others products is pervasive across all of Asia.

How awesomely retro, yet fresh is the work of Cristiana Couceiro?

via cirox

"December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." — Franklin D. Roosevelt

And so the United States entered World War II as a combatant. But, the war was also being fought on the homefront. Below are a few examples of how design worked its way into the propaganda machine.

via Attitude

via The National Archives

via tutsplus

The tubes are full of this stuff. Go explore.

A couple days ago, the New York Times published a post on its Bits blog by Nick Bilton about the disruptive effects 3-D printers are set to have on product design. From the post:

It won't be long before people have a 3-D printer sitting at home alongside its old inkjet counterpart. These 3-D printers, some already costing less than a computer did in 1999, can print objects by spraying layers of plastic, metal or ceramics into shapes. People can download plans for an object, hit print, and a few minutes later have it in their hands.

The thought of being able to torrent household objects is a game changer not only in design, but also in retail, ownership and copyright, Bilton feels. Is this the death of manufacturing? The death of stores? Will refills for a 3-D printer's jets be the only physical thing we will need to buy in the near future? In many ways it's a chilling prospect.

We're already seeing the deleterious effects on creativity that digital conversion of music, books, movies, etc., has wrought. It's harder to make a living these days being creative. If it can be disseminated, it will. Money that would normally go to a creator instead never enters into the transaction. This is less of a problem for big time projects like blockbuster movies, but pirating has cut off much of the funds that smaller projects need to keep their creators out of an office.

But all that is kid stuff compared to what Bilton hinted at. The death of retail and the death of ownership, while not inherently bad things on their own, represent a fundamental shift in how we've ordered capitalism and western society. This shift will alter the interrelations we have that keep us fed, sheltered, and prosperous. We are a people that trade. First goods and services, then metal and paper money, then zeros and ones. That could all go away.

Once upon a time, it was pure science fiction to think that we could get whatever we wanted out of a box on a shelf. It seemed like a little bit of paradise. In the future, there would be no war, no prejudice, no injustice, and no want of either material necessities or food. It's a compelling pastiche. Will our reality be so enlightened? I hate to be a pessimist, but war, prejudice, and injustice look like they are here to stay. And want? 3-D printers, on their face, look like a sure fire way to tackle the problems of deprivation. But before we get too far ahead, remember that these printers do not spin objects out of whole cloth. Even the most advanced 3-D printers that are realistically possible require raw materials to function.

So we're on the cusp of a new way of life. Will 3-D printers mean the end of want? Will they mean the major economies of the world will move completely into the digital realm? Will they mean control of raw materials will pass to a small power elite? Will they result in a lack of motivation among the populace to produce anything at all for themselves? We will not know the answers for decades, but home manufacturing will change how we live more than anything that has come out of the information revolution before it.

Rob Beschizza over at Boing Boing takes a look at Sony's new Vaio X and how they keep monkeying with their product features, like the keyboard:

The computer keyboard isn't a place where radical UI design changes are desirable. To extend the marketing metaphor, it's like the typeface of a book. You're stuck with the same old alphabet, in the same configuration, and your job is to preserve its usefulness while investing the work with with a certain character. The smart choice is to design something good and stick with it.

But Sony does not. The changes to the chiclet keys in the Vaio Z, however slight, show that it can't even refine its own winning ideas. It's as if Sony was using Helvetica before almost everyone else, then switched to Arial when the world followed suit.

I see the same behavior in the Android market, where new models get released each month and very few companes bother to stick with a phone and refine it, over and over again until it's amazing.

I originally wrote this piece back in 2009. With Apple recently introducing Siri, it is interesting to go back and read what I wrote:

The posting of specific product launches or reviews of these products is not something that deserves a spot on this site--we'll leave that to the engagets of the world. So it is with some apprehension that I make a post specifically focusing on the new iPod Shuffle and what it represents not only to Apple, but to people in general. After all--it's the people that end up using these products.

Apple announced its new iPod Shuffle with less media spectacle and usual hoopla that follows much of its product line. It has been a pattern that I have started to notice, and that is the fact that there seems to be a lot more to the products that receive less attention. There always seems to be a lot of things that go missed by the mainstream reviewers, and less thought into these patterns that keep appearing. There is more to this phone--oops, I mean iPod--than meets the eye.

This new iPod Shuffle is a culmination of many technologies that have been championed by Apple over the years. One of the key elements that is missing from this new device is a physical interface contained on the unit. This has now been placed on the headphone cord and now makes it very easy to control, using various clicking combinations. The other bit of technology to accompany this addition is the use of voiceover to alert people as to the name of track and artist that is playing in their headphones--this was something that was lacking in previous models of the iPod Shuffle. With all this said, there is a reason for it, and it's not just to sell more units. This is one step closer to the perfect interface and the perfect phone--oops, I mean iPod.

This iPod demonstrates a device that is not only less intrusive to use, but it is a device that is completely accessible to visually impaired people. The use of the headphone controls along with the voice feedback on the device, make it something that opens up the doors to people who could not enjoy the full experience of the screen-based iPod. These people can now navigate tracks and receive feedback as to what content is playing, giving them an experience in a mainstream music device that has not been achieved before.

This furthers Apple's quest for the perfect interface, the interface that doesn't have somebody bound to the use of a screen, but can offer an experience that is just as enjoyable--or maybe even more enjoyable. Only time will tell, but I think this represents a movement into a realm never seen before.

For those of you that know me--you know that I have always talked about how I would like to see somebody put a screen-less phone to market. There have been attempts by some companies to do it, but nothing that has produced good results. I think Apple has an opportunity to do it, and to actually pull it off.

The addition of the voiceover technology makes me think about voice coming from the other direction. I don't mean the lousy attempts by other companies to integrate voice commands into their devices, I mean a system that actually works. A system that would allow people to place calls through the use of their voice, along with being able to go through their address book and place calls. We may not be able to get rid of the phone keypad, but just imagine a phone/iPod that was contained in a pair of headphones. It may not be that far off.

Thanks for listening and keep on heeding.

via buamai

The recently released biography of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs isn't the only thing that's selling well in recent weeks. Apparently shoppers are snatching up the tech icon's favorite eyeglasses too.

via news.cnet.com

Co.Exist is a Fast Company initiative that focuses in on ideas and innovation that are changing the world.

The editor of the site describes it like this:

This site is focused on groundbreaking innovation, innovation that's going to change the way we live and the resources we use. We're for brash and creative solutions, that make everyone rich while helping the people of the world lead lovely, clean, and fulfilling lives.

We look forward to making this a Daily reading at the Exhaust.

Simon Garfield was recently interviewed on the CBC about his new book Just My Type: A Book about Fonts.

Conversations about Typography have usually lurked in the shadows. This is the first interview I have come across that takes the talk into the mainstream.

Here is the interview:

or

Here

So Ben Brooks imagines an alternate universe for Microsoft:

What if Microsoft bought HP's PC division to start producing their own hardware: the higher quality PC?

So you're imaging Microsoft turning into Apple.

Microsoft has begun building Microsoft stores, they would have a nice, existing, retail presence. They have deals with all major retailers. They likely have more brand trust than any current PC maker.

Ok, sure. I agree these retail stores could come in handy if they ever figured out how to make money from them.

In this scenario Microsoft wouldn't become another me-too PC maker -- they would be setting the standard. The standard for: price, quality, design, and speed.

Quality, design, speed. Microsoft. Right.

This is not out of the realm of possibility -- though it would be a risky move.

That's exactly what this scenario is - out of the realm of possibility. What Mister Brooks is proposing implies a complete change in business strategy for Microsoft. Microsoft started with the mission statement: "a computer on every desk and in every home". From day one they've always been about quantity over quality.

Maybe I'm wrong. I'd love to be proven so. Windows Phone was so refreshing when it came out and I was genuinely excited to see another strong contender enter the mobile OS arena, but then they started showing their plans for Windows 8, where some aspects would be in a traditional-Windows UI and other aspects would be in their new Metro UI. Nope. Still the same old Microsoft. Trying to be everything to everyone. Decent at some things, great at nothing.

This is also the company who recently got all excited about their revamped Windows Explorer.

Scott Jensen over a frog design talks our current obsession with seeing every possible solution in the mobile space as an app, he calls it app myopia:

Default Thinking comes up frequently when discussing technology, but a particularly virulent form of it has taken hold in mobile: App Myopia. This is a paradigm that sees every possible mobile opportunity only as an exercise in creating an app. This is a rather useful myopia, to be sure, as some people are making lots of money selling apps, but it is beginning to feel like a local maximum and a paradigm that can only get us so far. As Thomas Kuhn might say, we are in need of a revolution.

Scott has a great point. Sure it's wonderful if everyone is using an iPhone, because that means they can all talk to each other because they share a common platform, but we don't live in that kind of world. There's many different phones with different operating systems, and in the ideal world they would all be able to talk to each other and their surroundings.

The designer who voluntarily presents his client with a batch of layouts does so not out of prolificacy, but out of uncertainty or fear.

via @mullerbrockmann (via Analogue)

We work because it's a chain reaction, each subject leads to the next.

—Charles Eames

via Frank Chimero who has some interesting words in reaction to the quote:

The Eames were sharks. One just has to read what Charles said. In work, it's not that one project leads to the next, it's that one subject leads to the next. If we're really sniffing out solutions to the problems of people, then we'll be going down some serious rabbit holes.

We don't need to say "multi-disciplinary designer" any more. If we're truly trying to make things that help all of us to live better, it's implied and redundant.

Without play, there is no experimentation.

—Paul Rand

via this isn't happiness

The beautiful designs and illustrations of André Meca.

via Forgotten-hopes