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.