Autodesk Sustainability Workshop offers free online resources that teach the principles and practice of sustainability in engineering and design. This site was created to help educators teach and students learn the broader context and importance of sustainability in the engineering and architecture profession. The videos and tutorials aim to make it easy for anyone, anywhere to learn sustainability strategies that can be incorporated into the design process. The goal—develop sophisticated, yet easy-to-use learning tools that will be used, for free, by educators and students alike to create a more sustainable world.
The Autodesk Sustainability Workshop is a free and vast online resource that aims to teach sustainability strategies, from micro to macro. The simple, easily-digestible series of strategy videos, tutorials and case studies can help students, educators, designers, engineers and architects not only learn about sustainability, but how to directly apply it.
Core77 asked 5 students to take it for a test spin, investigating the workshop and using Autodesk software to incorporate what they'd learned in a re-design of a commonplace object. In the final installment of our series, we look at Arizona-based John Turner (B.S.D. in Industrial Design, Spring 2012) and his "Hydra."
Core77: John, tell us about yourself.
I was born and raised in Gilbert, Arizona, and am currently finishing up my Industrial Design degree at Arizona State University. I am 22 years old.
What made you decide to study industrial design?
I've always been interested in making things and figuring out how they work. When I was in high school I was introduced to ID as a profession when the Phoenix Art Museum had an introductory hands-on Industrial Design workshop in conjunction with their streamlined car exhibit. I attended and from there it was no turning back.
Where did you decide to study, and why?
Initially I chose to study at Arizona State University for financial reasons and because the professor that taught the workshop at the Phoenix Art Museum teaches at the school. What also attracted me to the program was the school's strong focus on materials, processes, and professional practice. Now in my final year, I am part of ASU's Innovation Space, a multi-disciplinary program that teams me with an engineer, a visual communications designer, and a business major to work through a project sponsored by Dow Corning.
What areas of industrial design are you interested in focusing on?
I like getting into the details and thinking about how all the parts of a system come together. Most of my focus is on consumer products. This summer I interned at Design Packaging, Inc. and got to learn a lot about packaging, which is an avenue I would like to continue to explore.
Tell us about your project, the "Hydra."
At first I was focusing on finding an object around the house that could be designed more efficiently. I was looking at things like toasters, headphones, and irons. Then I was notified that I could rework a previous project that I had done, so I switched over to the outdoor tool set that I designed last year. While I liked the concept, the execution was off. So I saw this as a chance to get the project right.
The Autodesk Sustainability Workshop is a free and vast online resource that aims to teach sustainability strategies, from micro to macro. The simple, easily-digestible series of strategy videos, tutorials and case studies can help students, educators, designers, engineers and architects not only learn about sustainability, but how to directly apply it.
Core77 asked 5 students to take it for a test spin, investigating the workshop and using Autodesk software to incorporate what they'd learned in a re-design of a commonplace object. In the fourth installment of our series we look at San-Francisco-based Marc Levinson (California College of the Arts, B.F.A. in Industrial Design) and his Lili Tea Infuser.
Marc, tell us about yourself.
I'm 23 years old, I was born in West Palm Beach, Florida and I currently live in San Francisco, California.
What made you decide to study industrial design?
Since I was little I've had two seemingly opposing interests in art and business. I really enjoy drawing, inventing and working on entrepreneurial ventures. When I was 16 years old a friend of mine introduced me to Industrial Design and I decided it was the only career for me to pursue.
Where did you decide to study, and why?
I decided to go to California College of the Arts in San Francisco. I was very excited by San Francisco's renowned design community and its proximity to Silicon Valley. I went to CCA during high school for a summer program and was impressed by the faculty, facilities and student work.
What areas of industrial design are you interested in focusing on?
One of my favorite things about Industrial Design is having the opportunity to learn about and design all types of products. I am however particularly interested in the materials and manufacturing processes involved in each project.
Tell us about your project, the Lili Tea Infuser.
It began as a student project. Brewing loose-leaf tea is an age-old custom, but its popularity in the United States has been growing quickly over the past few years. My objective was to design a simple, elegant household object so this seemed like a good choice; the tea infuser, although relatively simple, is unique and leaves room for very elegant, detail-oriented refinement. I also saw this as a good opportunity to learn about tea and the rituals involved in preparing it.
What background do you have with Autodesk products, and how were you first introduced to them?
My dad is an Electrical Engineer and taught me how to use AutoCAD when I was a little kid, so I have known about Autodesk for as long as I can remember. Now I use SketchBook Pro often for product ideations. I've also played with Alias, 3DS Max, Mudbox, Maya and Photofly.
Please describe which Autodesk products you use or used for this project, and what you like or dislike about them.
I used Autodesk Inventor Fusion in order to alter my original design. I then rendered and animated it in Inventor Publisher. Fusion was very easy to transition to from Solidworks. Relative to other rendering software, Publisher made it very easy to make animations and communicate my ideas. On the other hand, I did think the interface in Publisher was a little fussy and hard to control with much accuracy.
What things did you learn from the Sustainability Workshop that you didn't know before?
I was not aware of how big the impact of certain manufacturing processes can be—one little change can make a big difference even if the materials stay the same. I also learned how to better balance cost and sustainability.
Please describe your design process.
At first I was planning on starting back at the end of the concept phase, redesigning the form of my tea infuser from scratch with sustainability as the focus from the beginning. The workshop rightfully explains that this method is ideal, but in the end I decided it would be better to refine my existing form, which had already taken some product lifetime elements into consideration, as well as a significant amount of research and form finding. This being said, there was still lots of room for improvement.
The Autodesk Sustainability Workshop is a free and vast online resource that aims to teach sustainability strategies, from micro to macro. The simple, easily-digestible series of strategy videos, tutorials and case studies can help students, educators, designers, engineers and architects not only learn about sustainability, but how to directly apply it.
Core77 asked 5 students to take it for a test spin, investigating the workshop and using Autodesk software to incorporate what they'd learned in a re-design of a commonplace object. In the third installment of our series of Autodesk Sustainability Workshop projects, we look at 21-year-old David Markus (Savannah College of Art and Design, BFA in Industrial Design, Fall 2012) and his net-zero energy lamp inspired by the "Liter of Light" project.
David, tell us about yourself.
I grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina before moving to Savannah, Georgia for school. I turned 21 this year.
What made you decide to study industrial design?
I grew up in a pretty technical household; my mother was an engineer and my father was a computer programmer. As a child I was fascinated with taking things apart, though putting them back together generally wasn't in the plan. These days, however, I love to build things. I've turned into a bit of a shop geek, and have spent countless hours making contraptions and toys. Since I enjoy making things, Industrial Design gave me the opportunity to combine a lot of my passions and helps me to explore my ideas.
Where did you decide to study, and why?
After visiting Savannah, the decision was easy. SCAD has some incredible facilities, and Savannah is one of the most unique cities I've ever visited. The ID department at SCAD was especially impressive with the amount of digital fabrication equipment students had access to.
What areas of industrial design are you interested in focusing on?
I've always loved digital technology, and see it gaining even more importance in the future. Digital fabrication technology and equipment is becoming more and more affordable and sophisticated and I'm interested to see the way it affects design.
Tell us about your project.
The idea was to utilize sustainable manufacturing practices to create a net-zero energy lamp. This is a concept that I've had in the back of my head for a while, and it was reignited by a recent article showing used soda bottles being filled with water and installed into houses in third-world countries. The bottles captured a significant amount of light, and I wondered if a more industrial and refined version could be designed. Natural light has always seemed superior to any kind of artificial light, and I wanted to create a system for gathering and dispersing the light into a home or building using flexible fiber optic cable.
The Autodesk Sustainability Workshop is a free and vast online resource that aims to teach sustainability strategies, from micro to macro. The simple, easily-digestible series of strategy videos, tutorials and case studies can help students, educators, designers, engineers and architects not only learn about sustainability, but how to directly apply it.
Core77 asked 5 students to take it for a test spin, investigating the workshop and using Autodesk software to incorporate what they'd learned in a re-design of a commonplace object. In the second installment of our series of Autodesk Sustainability Workshop projects, we look at Massachusetts-based David Fustino (Wentworth Institute of Technology, Bachelor's of Industrial Design) and IRIS, his re-design of a desk lamp.
Core77: David, tell us about yourself.
David Fustino: I'm 22 years old, originally from Meriden, Connecticut and currently living in Framingham, Massachusetts.
What made you decide to study industrial design?
I always had a passion for art, particularly drawing and the way things worked. Industrial Design seemed liked the perfect combination.
Where did you decide to study, and why?
I decided to study at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. The Wentworth curriculum requires students to acquire two internships, a semester each, prior to graduation. I knew this was an opportunity to get real-world experience and develop my skills professionally. It broadened my professional network upon graduation and helped me more easily secure an entry-level position.
What areas of industrial design are you interested in focusing on?
I am always open to learning and experiencing different projects and intend on using what I learn in the industry to create a positive impact on the future of design in areas such as energy, transportation, purposeful consumer electronics and essential social needs/necessities.
Tell us about your project, IRIS.
IRIS is a magnetically assembled three-legged desk lamp that structurally displays the LED bulb and elegantly diffuses the light. When I designed this desk lamp at Wentworth, I took many thoughts into consideration such as environmental impact, manufacturing possibilities, alternatives materials, product performance and user interaction.
My Initial Intent/Design:
LED bulbs are structurally adorned with beautiful heatsinks to dissipate heat and are engineered to last up to 46 years. In such a "throw away society" this LED bulb delivers longevity in a market of rapid obsolescence. If a user will use a single bulb for more than three decades, how can the bulb be cherished? IRIS was structurally designed to display this wonderful balance of design & engineering rather than concealing it within a fixture.
A minimal base rises above clutter to co-exist with surroundings and magnets reduce the need for fasteners & hardware. The conically shaped underside lid evenly redirects and diffuses the light toward the users desktop surface. The lid is easily removable to service the bulb below.
The Autodesk Sustainability Workshop is a free and vast online resource that aims to teach sustainability strategies, from micro to macro. The simple, easily-digestible series of strategy videos, tutorials and case studies can help students, educators, designers, engineers and architects not only learn about sustainability, but how to directly apply it.
Core77 asked 5 students to take it for a test spin, investigating the workshop and using Autodesk software to incorporate what they'd learned in a re-design of a commonplace object. We start with California-based Erin Fong (California College of the Arts, BFA in Industrial Design, May 2011) and her update to the DSLR.
Core77: Erin, tell us about yourself.
Erin Fong: I am 24 and I was born in Oakland, but am currently living in Castro Valley. I love to travel, find new experiences, and read—classic literature, historical fiction and even rereading some favorite childhood books. I also like running, that's when I get a lot of my design thinking done.
What made you decide to study industrial design?
I grew up in a family that encouraged creativity and was exposed to the arts at a very young age. I always loved hands-on projects and received my first glue gun in elementary school. I felt like the glue gun allowed me to create almost anything, and that was my introduction to creating 3D objects. I've carried that interest with me and always feel the urge to make products work better to my own lifestyle.
What areas of industrial design are you interested in focusing on?
My natural tendencies have been toward consumer products and electronics, but I am always open to learning and experiencing different things.
Tell us about your project.
My goal is to challenge the form of the SLR camera. From my experience and from watching other people take pictures, there are so many different ways people position themselves in order to get the perfect picture: Lying on the ground, standing on top of chairs, crouching behind a tree, etc. Depending on the environment and situation, the demands on a photographer are different. However, the form of the camera has always remained the same: a static box. As a result, I wanted to try to create a new form that allowed users to gain a better grip on the camera when they're shooting from any angle. In addition, I wanted to make it friendly for both right and left-handed users because especially when using only one hand to hold the camera, people prefer to use their dominant hand, but when the shutter button is only on one side, some people are forced to use their non-dominant hand, making it more difficult to get the picture they want.
I also wanted to make the flow of taking pictures more seamless. Currently, a lot of the camera buttons are located on the back of the camera, so when making adjustments to the camera settings, sometimes people have to take the camera away from their face and look at the camera. By moving the buttons to the front of the camera handle where it is easily accessible to the fingers, I wanted it to be like a musical instrument—just like how a pianist can create a variety of beautiful music without looking down at the keys, I wanted photographers to have an uninterrupted time focusing on the picture they're taking without have to take their eyes off of the subject to look at the camera buttons.
From a sustainability viewpoint, DSLR cameras have a pretty good lifetime, but what do you do when it's obsolete? Another idea I'm going after is how to recycle and reuse a good portion of the camera body immediately after the actual camera stops working or becomes replaced by better models. Therefore, the key change I made to the original design was eliminating one of the camera handles, because simply having one handle maintains my original intent of making the camera friendly for both left and right handed users (as well as the single-handed function). Now the single handle breaks into a tripod. As a result, when the camera fails to take pictures, the camera handle/tripod can be removed from the rest of the camera body and be reused, maintaining its function as a tripod for other cameras without having to be collected and going through the recycling process.
I knew the camera project would be a good challenge for me, and I wanted to prompt an interesting way of thinking about sustainability.
