11th Hour.

The opening scenes of this documentary really make you realise the destruction and effects that we are having on ourselves, and really summarises the mistakes we are making to our environment. It is true, "you don"t need to know or learn about the problems that are going on in the world, you just need to look around," the problems on earth are becoming so common that it effects us everyday. Unfortunately, the things that we do that are having these catastrophic effects on earth are just become apart of our daily lives, and is becoming harder to draw the line between daily routine, and damaging the ecosystem. As designers, we are put right in the spotlight for the direction that the world can take. Our job entitles us to create and design new products the consumers don"t really need. We have the opportunity to find a niche market, and build on that to draw more income and design more products. This just leads us down the same road that our lives are already on. Products such as laptops, mobile phones, cars, and so on, are so quickly out dated, that they are being upgraded by consumers to newer and greater products to stay up with technology. All these old products are finding there way into landfill, and daily, causing more damage to our earth. That is just focusing on the end of the product life cycle. The damage that is being caused to initially produce the products is even higher. Not to mention using the products, or keeping the products running or in use. Cars, electricity for phones, lap tops, lamps, they all have large combined effects. If we are able to refocus out design, and design to create products that are sustainable, it will have much less impact on the world, then creating products that are designed to have faults in the near future, to increase consumers to repurchase. As designers, the world is in our hand to create products that have less impact on the world, or can help to reduce the impacts that are being caused. Technology has limited boundaries in todays world, if we are able to channel it in a way that can find new system of manufacturing, or a process that allows parts and products to be re-used, on a regular basis, its all going to contribute to help the worlds ecological problems, on a world-wide scale.

Design Charette

Mind Mapping.





Physio Attachment.




An additional cushion insert would make it much more comfortable to the user to sit in.



Widening the base of the legs, and adjusting the back rest and seat placement, would allow the chairs to become stack-able.


Psycho/Socio Attachment



Adding an area were the user can create there own style and graphics gives the chair significance, it makes the chair much more personal to the user.

Final Design.










Our final design was very simple and practical. We titled the angle of the chair back, by placing wedges at the front legs, and smaller wedges at the rear, this meant that it was more comfortable for the user to sit in. A foot rest was also added at the front of the legs, purely for comfort. A new back rest, which had a larger surface area was put in place. This gave the chair much more comfort and support on the back, the original back support was a small back, which caused problems to the should blades. This was overcome by the new back support. Finally, the base of the seat had an extra compartment added, as a storage space. This was just a simple addition that was practical and assisted in maximising unused space.


This task was interesting, as it made us think about the life of a product, how we as designers are able to adapt concepts to further increase the life span of a particular product. It is pointless to throw out a perfectly good product, and with simple small additions, a product can be transformed into a new design.
This exercise was great fun, and allowed each team member to be as creative as they wanted. It also ment that new ideas were found whilst working with other team members, and we could feed of eachothers ideas. However, it could possible have been a bit easier, communication wise, if the groups were a bit smaller.
Overall, it was great fun and eye opening to new design considerations.

Objectified.

“We are not interested in the average person, we are interested in the two extremes of the consumer market. The middle will take care of itself” This is an interesting point of view, as a designer, the consumers’ needs are extremely important fact in the development and concept stages of the process. Not worrying about the average person, in the market, and taking the two extremes of the market into consideration and hoping that the middle will take care of itself, is a very interesting way to ensure that the entire target market will be covered. Although, if a product can be useful too both extremes, it does make sense that the entire market would adaptable to the product.

“Using organic shapes, with new technologies.” This allows the designer to design physical products, that still have real meaning and connection with the user, but without removing them from the new age in design. It is able to capture and incorporate the two into one product. Is it easy to become carried away with certain designs, that may incorporate all the newest technology, but they don’t have that same emotional connection with the user. This way of design is able to reconnect that connection.

“Form and function has been annihilated by the microchip.” This is a very interesting opinion. It is true that basic older products such as spoons and chairs, are very functional, and a consumer knows exactly what to do with it through its form. However, with the introduction of new technology such as the iPhone and the Ipod, which all integrate microchips, it is hard for the user to pick the product up and know exactly what to do with it. From first hand experiences, my parents struggle to use iPods as it is hard to grasp the idea of the technology.