Design 200: Course Review

Honestly, I loved Design 200 this quarter.  It was definitely my most enjoyable class this quarter, and I really enjoyed learning some of the ins-and-outs of the major, and what I could be doing for the rest of my working years if I were lucky enough to get a job in design.  I especially liked some of the journals we did like the scavenger hunt, letterform seek and find, and found faces.  These projects took unique work, but provided a fun break from the normal grind of college classes, and also helped us realize and look more into our surroundings.  The final project was my favorite part of the class.  I was worried when I first found out about what it would involve, but as our group began working on it, I began to like it more and more.  I loved actually going through the process of dreaming up and designing our own product in order to present to the class (Coleman), and seeing the final product once it all came together.  I would definitely recommend this class to lots of my friends! (I have to a couple already)  Thanks for making this class so enjoyable!  Gabe, you're the best!

J10 Coleman for the Home

Group Members:
Nina El-Khuory
Brandon Reed
Anthony Norris
Matt Watson
Karyn Pernia
Xia Hau

J08 & J09

Our team worked very well together, and got a lot accomplished.  This was honestly the best group project I've ever worked on because every teammate contributed an equal amount, and did their part to make sure that the process went smoothly, and the product turned out like we wanted it to.  Our final design was the Coleman Custom Cabinet, and it was a storage device that a wide array of consumers could use for their gear for just about any hobby, and especially to hold their Coleman products.
I feel that I did a good job in contributing to the project, and that I had some good ideas that helped move the process of design and development.  I worked on making our ideas of accessories for the cabinet come to life using Google Sketchup.  I really enjoyed using the program, and I noticed great improvement in my skills with the program with each rendering I made.  Even though I was slightly worried when we first found out about this project, I ended up really enjoying it.  I really liked the whole design process, and completing the project makes me really want to get into the program, and pursue a career in design.

Coleman for the Home J09

Nina El-Khuory: http://sayithot.tumblr.com/
Brandon Reed: http://bmreed330.blogspot.com/
Anthony Norris: http://anthonorris.tumblr.com/
Matt Watson: http://ohiomatt33.tumblr.com/
Karyn Pernia: http://karynperniauise.blogspot.com/
Xia Hau: http://littledesign.tumblr.com/


     Our team has just finished putting the final touches on our presentation, and finalizing all the details on the project as a whole. We all met at Starbucks this afternoon to talk about our project, and we decided on the order of the slides in our presentation, and figured out how we were going to talk about our kiosk.  We all worked on small portions of the project individually, and then compiled those pieces to make our final project.  
     During the course of the project, I helped the group think about possible options for the cabinet design, and even used Google Sketchup to render 3-D designs and actual pictures of pieces that can be purchased as accessories for out cabinet.  I feel like I've been bringing good ideas toward the group discussion about the project, especially because my family camps a lot, so I use Coleman products all the time, and know what kind of products they sell, and who their customers are.
     We started out by making lists of possible beginning ideas that included pet products, appliances, and even food supplies.  We started thinking about how to combine some appliances or tools in order to make a certain job or task easier, and then stumbled upon the idea of the cabinet.  We then started making lists of things we wanted to include as accessories for the cabinet like a removable shelving unit, hooks, movable shelves, ventilation fan, and plastic baskets.  We plan on making a base-line cabinet, and then many accessories that people can buy so they can make the cabinet exactly how they want it.  Here are a few pictures of the accessories for the cabinet that I've been working on:

Coleman for the Home J08

Nina El-Khuory: http://sayithot.tumblr.com/
Brandon Reed: http://bmreed330.blogspot.com/
Anthony Norris: http://anthonorris.tumblr.com/
Matt Watson: http://ohiomatt33.tumblr.com/
Karyn Pernia: http://karynperniauise.blogspot.com/
Xia Hau: http://littledesign.tumblr.com/

Our team has been working on an indoor storage cabinet for Coleman products. It's a cabinet to store outdoor products like coats, boots, helmets, and any other accessories that an active family may need or use.  As we've been designing the cabinet we've come across many things that we've had to decide on or pick.  One thing was the overall size of the cabinet, because the bigger it is the more you can store in it, but it still needs to be able to fit through doorways and under ceilings.  We've all been compiling ideas and drawing up potential designs for the cabinet, and soon we'll all decide on who's doing which part of the presentation and how they're going about showing it to the class.
So far in our project, we have all taken on about the same role.  We've been compiling all our ideas and designing the cabinet so that it fits the average user the best, and does everything we'd like it to.  I feel like I've been bringing good ideas towards the development and design of our product, and have been played an important role in thinking of ideas and making them fit the cabinet.  Once we begin the next stages of our presentation, I'll be helping make mock-ups and set up the presentation itself.
We do have a few sketches and drawings of what the cabinet will look like, but I don't have any of them on my computer.  We made lists of possible beginning ideas that included pet products, appliances, and even food supplies.  We started thinking about how to combine some appliances or tools in order to make a certain job or task easier, and then stumbled upon the idea of the cabinet.  We then started making lists of things we wanted to include as accessories for the cabinet like a removable shelving unit, hooks, movable shelves, ventilation fan, and plastic baskets.  We plan on making a base-line cabinet, and then many accessories that people can buy so they can make the cabinet exactly how they want it.

Heskett 9-10

I really loved the parts of chapters 9 and 10 when Heskett talked about a great amount of companies and how they develop and maintain their company persona and image.  It's interesting to see how different companies have so many different ways of developing new products, and what their views on the importance of those products to the company are.  I also enjoyed when Heskett made the comment that large companies were once small companies with ambition.  All too often, people think that they'll never get anywhere in todays market because they're just "the little guy," but what they fail to think about is at one point, every company out there was some type of "the little guy."
I love to think about what the future holds in the design industry.  It's amazing how over that last few decades the world as we know it has changed in so many ways.  Sometimes I like to think about what new technology will be coming out within my lifetime, and how much easier or different our daily lives become.  We were once using horse and buggy to get from place to place, we're now using cars and airplanes, and I can't wait for the day when we all have personal hovercraft and helicopters.

McDonough 4-6

"To eliminate the concept of waste means to design things-products, packaging, and systems-from the very beginning on the understanding that waste does not exist."  This quote really got me thinking about how we live our lives, and what we need to do in order to make the world a better place for the coming generations.   If we continue to not get anything done about all the waste and pollution we're creating, the world's resources will be gone, and we won't be able to do anything about it.  We need to collectively spend more money on figuring out how to make and destroy things so they're more friendly to the environment.  I never imagined that things like our shoe soles are hurting our environment as much as they are.  McDonough really got me thinking about how even the smallest, and seemingly least important, things are all collectively destroying our planet.

Week 7

I really enjoyed class this week, especially Tuesday.  I've been thinking about majoring in industrial design, and I loved seeing first-hand what people have done with their degree.  I've been wondering what the work-load of the program entails if I were to major in design, and I really liked what I saw.  I would love developing new products in the fashion that the guys from Cobego have.  I was very worried that my poor drawing skills would hold me back, especially with the entrance exam, but I feel alot better about it now.  I know I'll still have to get better and do it often, but I feel like it won't be that huge of a crutch for me.  Thanks for bringing in the guys from Cobego.  I really enjoyed their presentation, and feel like they gave a really important sense of what it's like to graduate with a design degree from OSU.  And the marshmallow challenge was fun too.  I've done the challenge before, but every time I've done it there's been variations in the materials used, so it's fun to see what designs work and don't work with what you're given.

Online Scavenger Hunt

- 5 manufacturers or retailers who specialize in outdoor camping and recreation products.
     1) Coleman
     http://www.coleman.com/
     2) Campmor
     http://www.campmor.com/
     3) Bass Pro Shops
     http://www.basspro.com/camping.html
     4) Gander Mountain
     http://www.gandermountain.com/site_section/camping_section.shtml
     5) Cabelas
     http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/browse/_/N-1100668?WTz_l=SBC


- 3 pictures from outdoor recreation trade shows

- 5 manufacturers or retailers who specialize in indoor home goods products.
     1) ACE Hardware
     http://www.acehardware.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=2568448&clickid=topnav_home
     2) Lehman's
     http://www.lehmans.com/store
     3) Home Goods
     http://www.homegoods.com/index.asp
     4) Consignments at Jarred's Homegoods
     http://jarreds.shoprw.com/home.php
     5) Green Home Goods
     http://greenhomegoodsinc.com/


- 3 pictures of trade show / exhibition booths from the indoor home goods market.

Indoor Home Goods - any item or device that people use in their home for a certain functional purpose, or for aesthetic value




- 3 pictures of different types of possible home goods.

Kitchen Appliences

Consumer Electronics

Indoor Furniture

Letterform Seek And Find

Accessibility

I really liked the classes when we talked about accessibility.  Most people don't even think much about this topic, but it is something that is really important these days.  Most people seem to put this at the bottom of the list of important things, but to the people it effects, it's at the absolute top of the list.  If someone can't get into buildings because there's no ramps, or if someone can't use their hands anymore because of an accident,  there lives are greatly effected.  As designers, we need to look more into this issue than just ramps into buildings, and simple wheelchairs.  We need to be developing and using new technology to make the lives easier for people who are physically or mentally handicapped.  I really love the video we saw during class about the electric wheelchair that allowed such great access and versatility to people confined to getting around in a wheelchair.



Even though this video has really poor quality, it shows some new technology that would allow blind people to use the iPhone 4.  Even though some people would consider it unnecessary, it could allow many people to use the great technology of the iPhone, even if they can't see the screen.  It would normally be almost impossible for a blind person to use a touch screen phone, but with the brail and voice assist, this device would allow a whole new market for people who wouldn't have been able to use it before.



This video shows some technology and innovations that Europe is coming out with to help people with disabilities in their country.  Things like ramps on all buses and new school systems are allowing so much more access for people with disabilities.  When disabled people are integrated and mixed with non-disabled people, it allows them to feel more normal and "like everyone else" in their high schools.  This also allows non-disabled people to become more used to living with and helping people that aren't as fortunate as they are.



This video doesn't introduce any new technology or products, but it does relate very well to our class.  It shows architecture students who are directly placed into the shoes of people that they will eventually design buildings for.  The students are forced to learn first hand how hard navigating the world can be with a disability, and it allows them to realize what they need to do in order to design buildings for all people.




If I were in a wheelchair, I would want one of these motorcycles really badly.  This motorcycle allows people in wheelchairs to bring their chair up into the motorcycle, fasten it in, and ride the open  road like any other motorcycle rider.  Things like this are so vital in allowing people with disabilities to feel just like people who don't have any disabilities.




This is a video showing the e-motion motor assist for regular wheelchairs.  As an add-on to regular wheelchair, it is cheaper than a full electric wheelchair, and very simple to use.  The motors sense force being put on each wheel, and help turn the wheels, almost like power steering. This product would allow people to use wheelchairs will more control, and less fatigue over time.

McDonough 1-3

I think it's crazy to think about the massive change and innovation that was taking place during the industrial revolution.  The way so many products became so much cheaper, faster produced, and more available to the general public, is awesome to me.  It seems like things these days take forever to get produced because all of the development and government restrictions they have to go through before getting put on the market.  I would love to see what would happen if companies could be run like they were back then: fast paced, and no looking back.  Much of the world as we know it would be completely different.  The planet would definitely be more dirty and in trouble, but I would at least like to be able to see what it would be like.
From talk on the news and newspapers, we all know that our country isn't headed in the right direction.  I never realized, though, that things were as bad as McDonough claims.  From some of the claims in the book, it seems as if the country is headed downhill so fast, that it'll be completely destroyed within 100 years.  I know our environmental situation is not good, but I wonder if it really is as bad as McDonough makes it seem, or if he's just making it seem like in order to get his point across.
At the beginning of chapter 3, McDonough talks about the "perfect book."  He talks about how it is completely recyclable, and so much more versatile and useful than the conventional book.  I thought he was talking about his book, but even the been we're reading can't make claims to being that "eco-friendly." This just helps get the point across on how tough it is to make new products exactly how we dream them up to be.  We have thoughts of all this efficient and eco-friendly stuff, yet in most cases, we don't have the technology or now-how to make it yet.

Rip! (Week 6)

This week's classes were really cool.  They started out a little boring with all the talk of copyrights and legal stuff, but the movie really interested me.  I've always been interested in all the BS that corporate America can pull on individuals and screw them over with their big-time lawyers and stuff, and the video brought about so many more ways they're screwing over the "little guys."  I agree that people should be able to copyright and patent their work and designs, but I think they should last a much shorter amount of time.  Like we talked about in class today, I think patents should last for about 2 or 3 years, with a possible appeal process for an extension.  I think that songs should have an even shorter time limit on their restrictions from public use.  People like Girl Talk should be able to use bits of songs in his work because he's only using small pieces of songs to make complete new songs.  It's not like he's playing a whole song by someone, so after the song loses some popularity and stops making the artist solid money, the song should be free game to mixers and downloaders everywhere.  I think if we don't get a handle on what major corporations can control now, our country is just going to get more restricted, controlled, and "lame."  America is said to be a free country, yet there are so many ways where we allow major businesses and companies control our lives for us.

Color and the Environment

This weeks classes we pretty interesting, not including all the snow and ice to go along with them. ha.  Monday's lecture was about color, and it's crazy for me to think about the importance color has on our world. Company's put so much money into research to find what colors help us get different feelings without even knowing it. I think it's awesome that Mcdonald's uses red and yellow as their colors because it makes us hungry.  It also amazes me how we associate so many different moods and feelings with colors.  My favorite color is green, and what it's associated with seems to fit me so well.
Even though many people scrutinize the whole "green movement" going on right now, it really is necessary if we want to continue living on this planet for many years to come.  I loved seeing what just a few designers have done to help the process of reversing the damage we've done to our planet.  The Livesaver water bottle was definitely my favorite invention of the ones we saw today. The fact that it could be given out to so many people around the world so they can make their own clean water is just awesome to me.  I wish there were some way to get people from around the country to donate just a few dollars apiece so we could get everyone who needs one, one of these bottles.

50 Things about the Thompson Library

1) the stairs have no support underneath them
2) the stairs on the ground floor widen as the reach the bottom
3) there aren't any supports under the desks against the walls
4) wire cable is used in the small walls on the edge of each floor
5) each floor gets one concrete post-distance smaller as you go up
6) many different angles in silver pieces between floor tiles
7) orange chairs only around the outside of the buckeye reading room
8) red chairs only on the north-south part of each floor
9) lights underneath stair face the stairs, not the floor
10) all lamps in open areas shave white shades
11) random words or symbols in gold metal pieces in bottom floor
12) only end ceiling lights point straight down
13) concrete posts not covered
14) glass walls fastened together with silver circles
15) all stools are polished aluminum
16) lounge chairs are all a shade of brown
17) wooden chairs have same shade cushions as lounge chairs
18) each floor has different types of flooring in different sections
19) the sides of the main stair are made of green marble
20) east-west cross-members for ceiling window are curved
21) ceiling window is peaked
22) ceiling window is tinted
23) all bookshelves are gray
24) different chair styles in different parts of library
25) desks against walls are made out of a transparent material
26) desks against walls are the only ones that are green in color
27) desks in large group rooms on west side are made out of different type of wood
28) lamps in large group rooms on west side are different than ones in main study areas
29) large fabric pieces cover windows on west side during certain outside light conditions
30) words on west reading room floor are raised
31) structural braces are open to view in west wall of actual library section
32) large glass wall made to look like one giant sheet of glass
33) every other floor on glass wall has extra concrete supports on main beams
34) every other floor of glass wall has X braces or straight braces holding the glass sections together
35) words on walls and sign are all silver
36) main floor isn't the same level as you walk through library
37) lights in buckeye reading room are vertical
38) lamps in study rooms are only one with wooden bases
39) words on the floor in the buckeye reading room don't seem to make sense
40) library as a whole is very symmetrical
41) lights inside giant skylight on west side point up and towards the wall for effect at night
42) many symbols are used on signs rather that words
43) stairs on main level are only steps that are shorter in height
44) lights embedded in ground floor light up bottom flight of stairs
45) columns in west-most room are only cylindrical columns
46) flight of stairs on east side is made of glass instead of stone
47) information desks and service desks that stand-alone are curved in shape
48) skylights on east and west side of library are identical
49) glass walls between security scanners
50) William Oxley Thompson statue by east entrance doors

McDonough Introduction

First off, I want to comment on the fact that the book is actually made out of something other than paper, something that really helps make the point of "remaking the way we make things." The fact that the book is  heavier and the pages feel more like plastic and are thicker than normal paper pages, came to my attention the first time I held, and flipped through the book.  I think it really gets the point across that we need to drastically rethink so many products that are on the market today because of how unsafe they are for us and the environment.  When McDonough explained so many products that have unsafe chemicals and how bad they are for us, it really made me stop and think about all the things we normally think of as simple and safe.  Even a simple wood chair that we normally assume wouldn't have any harsh chemicals in it, may contain different toxins in the paint, sealer, or even glue that helps hold it together.  I never realized that most of the "recycled" products that are being sold these days, really aren't even that much better for the environment.  Making carpet from recycled plastic bottles doesn't remove the plastic from the landfill completely, it just prolongs the time in which it will make the journey there.  The last couple sentences in the section is worded so simply, but it so true: "Nature doesn't have a design problem. People do." It's crazy to think that all the problems in the world and environment have been created by the human race.  Nature is pure and unharmful, yet we continue to pollute it every day.

Found Faces

The bottom half of my stapler.

This is the small piece of my macbook charger that connects into the large square.

Here's one of my computer speakers that looks like a cyclops.

One of my neighbor's speakers turned sideways.

This is the sink in one of my friends bathrooms. 

Scavenger Hunt!

This is a close-up shot of the library for clue #4, but I tried to add it after the other pictures, and couldn't get it to be by the other shot of the library.

The Barcelona Chair was designed by Mies van der Rohe.    One interesting fact about the chair is that over the years of production, bovine leather replaced the ivory-colored pigskin that was used on the original chair.

The Arktek company and Alvar Aalto designed this chair, called the Paimio Armchair.  The chair was actually designed for tuberculosis patients so they could sit comfortably for long hours each day.  I am reading Modernism Magazine, the issue about Augusto Romano: Inventing the Adaptable Home.

During the design of the Wexner Center, Eisenman noticed that the street grids of the OSU campus and Columbus city  grids varied by 12.25 degrees, and different parts of the building follow each of the grids, which makes the building more unique and interesting.  The building was also the first major public building that was designed by Eisenman, who later went on to design many other buildings, including the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

I really liked how Johnson used many different arch sizes in the design of the Mathematics Tower and Science Library.   Some of the arches are really tall and skinny, and others are short and fat, with all sizes in between.  Especially in this picture, I like the way he used the different sized arches and filled the space between them with tile instead of brick, which really sets that entrance apart from the rest.

The Thompson Library has been expanded or renovated three times since it's original date of construction in 1913, and the latest renovation cost $108 million.   The library currently boasts 1,800 study seats for students to use throughout the 11 floors of the library

Heskett Ch. 7-8

The chapter about corporate identity really brings out the importance of things like company's logos and the way they're viewed by the public.  It's crazy to think that companies have to spend so much time researching even a new logo before they make it their official logo just to make sure that it's simple enough for people to remember and recognize, and it gets across the message that they want to convey.  It's almost hard for me to believe that even such things as companies like British Airways changing their logo and how they paint their planes, to create so much controversy.  I don't understand how people can get so mad or even offended just by a companies logo or paint job.
It's crazy to think about how changes in production and development have saved companies so much time and money.  As companies have gone to made-to-order lines of production and modular systems, it makes production faster, and more efficient.  I really like to think about the changes over the past few decades that have made everything quicker, more simple, and cheaper.

Week 4

This week's classes were really cool.  I liked monday's class when we talked about accessibility and how there is such a huge market out there for new designs to improve existing things, like entrances to buildings, and design new products, like "super" wheelchairs that make life so much easier for people.  I never really even thought about it, but there are so many markets out there that could use so much help with new products and designs. One thing I like about design is there's always room for improvement.  A certain product could be redesigned multiple times, but there could still be changes that could be made to make it better.  There's never a point in which something is as good as it could ever get.
The scavenger hunt today was a great change of pace and ended up being fun.  It was so nice to have a class that was doing something other than sitting inside and listening to a prof speak while taking notes.  Getting to spend class outside, even though it was cold, was really cool.  I liked having to figure out the answers to the clues instead of just finding things around campus and taking pictures of them.  Today's class was definitely a win!

Survey

Questions:
1) Black or White?
2) Spicy or Sweet?
3) Chocolate or Vanilla?
4) Hot or Cold?
5) Urban or Country?
6) Coke or Pepsi?
7) Apple or PC?
8) College or NFL?
9) Dogs or Cats
10) Beef or Chicken?

I sent the questions to a random 50 guys and 50 girls on my Facebook, and recorded the results as guys in blue and girls in pink.

Ross Lovegrove

Ross Lovegrove is an industrial designer possibly best known for his work on the Sony Walkman.  He studied at Manchester Polytechnic, graduating with a First Class BA in industrial design in 1980, and then went to the Royal College of Art, London in 1983 where he completed his master of design.  Most of the inspiration Lovegrove uses in his work comes from organic forms and structures.  During the 80's, Ross worked as a designer for frog design in west Germany on products like walkmans for Sony, and computers for Apple Computers.  He later moved to Paris as a consultant to Knoll International, becoming author of the highly successful Alessandri office system.  Lovegrove has won numerous awards, and has been greatly published and exhibited internationally including places like the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Guggenheim Museum, the Axis Centre, Japan, the Pompidou Centre, Paris, and the Design Museum in London where he curated the first permanent collection.  He was awarded the World Technology Award by Time Magazine in November 2005.  The same year, he was awarded the very prestigious Red Dot Design Award for his products created for Vitra.


"Ross Lovegrove - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia."Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ro


"ross lovegrove." designboom. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. <http://www.designboom.com/e

Light fixture

DNA staircase

Watch

Muon Speakers

Tom Dixon

Tom Dixon is a British designer that specializes in furniture.  He fell upon his ability in design completely by accident after being injured in a motorcycle accident with extra time on his hands while he recovered.    He started designing furniture more as a hobby that anything, and never expected it to get him as far as it has.  Before becoming famous as a designer, Dixon played the bass guitar in a band called Funkapolitan, and worked as a nightclub promoter and warehouse party organizer.  He opened his own store to sell his products in order to try to improve business because he wasn't making enough money on his own.  The "S-Chair" is one of his most recognizable products, and he considers it to be one of the most important developments as a designer.  Dixon has his own company called Tom Dixon Ltd. so now his products are sold under the brand, rather than just his name.  In the future Tom plans to design things he's never tried before, including "buildings, motorcycles, books, gardens, foods, discotheques, and water purification systems."  One of his most interesting pieces is the "Eco Ware" tableware made entirely from biodegradable bamboo fiber.  He was appointed head of design UK by the Habitat retail chain in 1998, and later appointed creative director or Artek, a Finnish furniture manufacturer.  Tom also teaches at many design-focused speaking events and charity events around the globe and has taught at the Royal College of Art, Kingston Polytechnic, and Plymouth University.

"Tom Dixon / Designing Modern Britain - Design Museum Exhibition : - Design/Designer Information." Design Museum London. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. <http://designmuseum.org/design/tom-dixon>.


"Tom Dixon (industrial designer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom

Star Light

S-Chair

Pylon Chair

Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen was an industrial designer throughout the 20th century known for his "simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like realism, that showed a remarkable range of design which depended on color, form, and materials."

Saarinen immigrated to the US at thirteen, and grew up in Bloomfield, Michigan.  His father was a teacher at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where Eero took classes in sculpture and furniture design.  Starting in September 1929, he studied sculpture at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, France.  He then moved on to study at the Yale School of Architecture, graduating in 1934.  Saarinen eventually joined the military in the Office of Strategic Services.  He was assigned to draw illustrations for bomb disassembly manuals and to provide designs for the Situation Room in the White House.  After his father's death in 1950, Saarinen founded his own architectural company called Eero Saarinen and Associates.

Saarinen first received recognition, while working for his father, for a chair designed with Charles Eames for the Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition in 1940, in which they got first place. The chair was put into production by the Knoll furniture company, who later produced many of his other works.  While with Knoll, he designed pieces like the Grasshopper lounge chair and ottoman, the Womb chair and ottoman, the Womb settee, side and arm chairs, and his most famous Tulip or Pedestal group that included side and arm chairs, dining, coffee and side tables, and a stool.

Within his first few decades of design he produced many designs for places like the General Motors Technical Center, John Deere Headquarters, IBM Headquarters, and CBS Headquarters.  The interiors of these buildings usually contained "dramatic sweeping staircases," as well as many different types of furniture designed by Saarinen.  Eero's company designed many of it's most important works in the few years before his death in 1961.  Some of these include: the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Gateway Arch) in St. Louis Missouri, the TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy National Airport, and the main terminal of Dulles International Airport near Washington DC.

Eero Saarinen was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1952.  He is also a winner of the AIA Gold Medal, given "in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory of practice of architecture."

He was criticized during his own time as "having no identifiable style," yet now he is looked back on as "one of the masters of American 20th Century architecture."

I've always enjoyed the works of Saarinen, since I first saw the St. Louis Arch in 2000.  I love the simplicity of the monument, yet how complex the interior and base is.  My family went to the top of the Arch, and I was fascinated throughout the whole trip to the top and back down.  I later realized that he designed John Deere Headquarters, which my family has also visited.  With the headquarters, I really like how he chose to not have the building painted, but left it natural steel so that when it rusted, it gave it that orange-ish, rustic look.  The interior of the building is very simple, yet very functional and beautiful.  I love the view of the building from the entrance road that shows the side view with a pond and rolling hills in front of it.  All the different things he designed seem to have such beauty, yet be very functional at the same time, which not all designers are able to accomplish.

Eero Saarinen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eero_Saarinen

"Eero Saarinen - Great Buildings Online." Architecture Design Architectural Images History Models and More - ArchitectureWeek Great Buildings . N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. <http://www.greatbuildings.com

Interior of MIT Chapel

John Deere Headquarters

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (St. Louis Arch or GatewayArch)

Tulip Chairs