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DesignNews December 2003 |
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Thought At Work Design Conference The kids are alright. |
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| The windswept campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology might seem an unlikely spot for a lineup of design heavy hitters, but the Thought at Work Conference delivered on an ambitious quest to provide student designers with insights from the professional design community. The conference, a reaction to last year's Northeast IDSA conference, was conceived of and organized by three R.I.T. Students--Don Lehman, Ori Fowler, and Sam Aquillano--who dared to rifle through magazines, call up designers who impressed them, and simply ask them to come. With a crack team of volunteers, support from the faculty and, heart-warmingly, students' parents(!), the conference ran like clockwork, provided inspiring presentations and dialogue, and startlingly, served as a template for how to put on a design conference of any sort--student or professional! But this was advertised as an "Industrial Design Student Conference," and there was a sweet disconnect between the high-wattage presenters and the goofy students. ("What's your favorite color?" was the first question yelled out during the roundtable discussion). This made for a good-natured, serve-the-young'uns atmosphere, and the presenters did their best to indulge both naive and brazen Q&A while simultaneously talking up to the audience. The organizers, in their own words, "wanted to create a place full of amazing designers with really cool ideas." And so they did.    |
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In order of appearance: Alan Mudd (Design Continuum) Alan Mudd's presentation, an appropriate lead-off to the conference following a morning of student portfolio reviews, centered on portfolio, presentation, and interviewing techniques. He encouraged the students to structure their books like well-written stories or a film, developing characters and concentrating on process. Mudd also stressed that design development pages should be busy and playful, demonstrating thinking on the page, and that the ingredients for the most effective portfolios bridged the continuum (sorry) from thumbnail sketches and refined sketches to Illustrator/ Photoshop sketches and photorealistic CAD renderings. He showed an inspiring and instructive set of examples, and urged students to "remove the junk" from their portfolios, excising anything that they found themselves repeatedly apologizing for: "If you think your stuff sucks, then why is it in your book?" We loved Mudd's exhortation to put emphasis on early techniques, urging students to "Maximize the 'old school.' People are pretty much done with Alias." Quote of the hour: On a Q&A question about where he thought design was going today: "Where is design going?...I'm getting really concerned that it's going to China." |
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Stephanie Elias (Leapfrog) Stephanie Elias, the first designer to come on board at Leapfrog, shot digital photos of her Monday-thru-Friday workweek preceding the conference, and showed these down-and-dirty images, complete with "Marketing gal," "Engineering guy," and "Manufacturing dude" callouts scribbled overtop--a nice, real-world touch for students to see. Elias stressed the quick, new product development cycle in the toy business (9 months), and dovetailed lots of industry jargon into her presentation: "first domestic avail," "drop test," and "character bible" were the crowd favorites. Fashion plays a big part in toy design, she explained, and urged students to visit stores, examine competitive products, and generally get a sense of what's "out there" in order to make their own designs better. She then drew some distinctions between school and professional practice: "Your products are no longer yours" when you join a team in the working world, she noted with some nostalgia, and that your tenure as a student "is the last time that you are the CEO of your products." Quote of the hour: On the importance of leaving the workplace to experience other things and get inspired: "Innovate in the world, execute in the office." |
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Claude Zellweger (One & Co.) The first of a wave of west-coast design mafia to present at the conference, Claude Zellweger traced his path from a bored high school student sketching TinTin characters ("boredom is the mother of creativity"), through Art Center (both European and Californian campuses), Wacom, Pentagram, and finally to One&Co. He took the audience through the development of the new Nike Triax watch, explaining that everyone in the office took up jogging to test out prototypes. Zellweger then moved on to concept development for Motorola, showing a modular cellphone component system that went beyond simple faceplate replacement. He stated, "I believe that in the future, our bodies will become the interface," showing retinal projection displays and gesturing toward seamless technology. For Burton Snowboards, Zellweger talked about working with the market leader of any category: "The pro is that you have the leverage of the brand; ideas get translated very well. The con is that there's no one to chase after." Leaving time to talk about the creative process, Zellweger suggested three techniques for breaking through dead ends: 1. Switch your medium (go 3D, use watercolors, photography, etc.); 2. use a non-designer (have a friend sketch your idea for you, see it through their eyes); and 3. go to the flea market (always a great source of inspiration). Quote of the hour: On designing for Dell--"not a design-driven company"--he commented that design tended to be an afterthought: "If the design is inoffensive, then it's a success." |
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Chris Lenart (Newdealdesign) Chris Lenart organized his presentation around three case studies, articulating the importance that NDD places on role of "brand building product design." He took the audience through user image boards, product development boards, and prototypes for the Palm Zire, Rio MP3 player, and Snowsoft helmet/goggle hybrids. Moving deftly through the Palm Zire journey, Lenart peppered the story with fun details: It's sub-$100 price tag is intended to target not only college kids, but also "late adopters" (i.e. Soccer Moms); the three design finalists were nicknamed according to their formal connotations ("Bridge," "Taco," and "Pill"); to slim the visual look of the device, they employed design tricks to "take the air out of the product"--a favorite expression and one surely to be adopted by the entire student audience. Lenart ended his presentation with the "20 Things I Didn't Learn in Design School," an inspiring offroad from the pedagogic boilerplate. A few highlights: #20, Human Shit Alley (they work in a not-so-glamorous neighborhood; #16, Read Tom Peters (expand beyond Wallpaper and ID Magazine); #14 Ideas/Weekends (the best ideas come on the weekends, not while you're at work with the phone and office noise around you); #8 Manufacturing/Mechanical Engineering (mechanical engineers don't like to be proven wrong; tread lightly); and #1, Be Yourself (know your own strength and skill sets; bring your unique perspective to the table). Quote of the hour: On describing the Apple Computer, iPod design aesthetic: "Neo-modern; retro-Braun." |
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Cameron Sinclair (Architecture for Humanity) Architecture for Humanity (AFH) was founded in 1999 with the mandate of responding to humanitarian crises from transitional housing, to flooding, to mine clearance. Sinclair has successfully launched several international design competitions, worked with aid organizations, navigated governmental agencies, and done his best to blast through bureaucracies and nay-sayers of every shape and flavor. With an undeniable presence, Sinclair took the audience through the highlights of two of his initiatives. Transitional Housing for Returning Refugees: Kosovo 1999-2000, featured short- and medium-term structures (notable were Basak Altan Design's yurt-inspired arched system, and Deborah Gans & Matt Jelacic's Extreme Housing modular system). The second project, Outreach: Designs for a Mobile Health Clinic to Combat HIV/AIDS in Africa proved similarly intriguing (notable were 1st Place Finalists KHRAS Architects's woven frame structure, as well as Gaston Tolila and Nicholas Gilliland's structure, composed of earthen material granaries complemented by a veil of local African textiles). Sinclair shared a multitude of anecdotes, all at rapid-fire speed and eyebrow-raising intensity. Statistics also stunned: "1 in 3 women in South Africa will be raped in their lifetime; the average time people spend in a refuge camp is 4-5 years." Sinclair believes that design should be taught in high school, and that "a good designer has great ideas, but a great designer implements them." After his lengthy presentation (Bucky style), he was swarmed by the students (also Bucky style), and with any luck picked up a bunch more volunteers for his good works. This wrapped up the first day's presentations, and the room, swelled with excitement and exhaustion, packed up and moved to after-conference festivities. Quote of the hour: Text on the back of his Architecture For Humanity T-shirts: "Design like you give a damn." |
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Steve Portigal (Customer Researcher) The second day of the conference started off with Steve Portigal, who gave a wise and thoughtful overview of design research. Portigal took a no-nonsense approach to introducing the students to the field, eschewing jargon and demystifying the discipline. He talked about the "Insights Iceberg," made up of (in decending order) explicit behaviors and spoken preferences, problem-solving and attitudes that are difficult to express, and implicit meanings and values, pointing out that much of what's to be gained through ethnography is quite far down, below the water line. But perhaps the most key takeaway was Portigals three-part rubric: What people do; What people say; and What people say about what they do. The trick then is zeroing in on the inferences one can draw from the differences between the three. Portigal went on to give some advice about conducting interviews, from tips on how to choose your subjects to building rapport and improving your listening skills. (In a particularly memorable case, he cautioned, "When people mispronounce brand names, don't correct them, mirror them." The subject in question was pronouncing TiVo "Ty-vo," so Portigal swallowed his techy pride and referred to the thing as Ty-vo for the rest of the session.) After many more useful tips, he ended his presentation with some images and stories from a trip to Japan, noting various artifacts and behaviors. (Memorable were Toto's flush-noise generator for embarrassing public bathroom use, and gas stations where attendants will stop traffic in the road for you so that you can pull out when you're done.) Quote of the hour: On what do you call it: "User Research, customer research, design researcher, ethnography... it all just means 'spending time with customers'." |
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Virginia Postrel (Author of The Substance of Style) Fresh from her book tour, Virginia Postrel presented the main ideas from her latest, "The Substance of Style." She began by arguing that we have entered the "age of aesthetics," defining the word around communication through the senses--creating reactions without words. Aesthetics in product design show rather than tell, delight rather than instruct, she argues; "their effects are immediate, perceptual, and emotional--not cognitive." She then went on to delineate the Value of Design, drawing distinctions between Function ("Some people think that designers are just engineers with less math"), Pleasure (both biological--people like babies, as well as cultural--we enjoy novelty), and Meaning (identity is about standing out and fitting in simultaneously; most meaning is associated to identity). Together, then, the substance of style amounts to a neat pair of axioms: "I like that" (pleasure), and "I'm like that" (identity). She then moved on to a series of curious Aesthetic Indicators: There are now 150,000 graphic designers (vs. 15,000 in early 1970s); There are now 53,000 nail salons, with 372,000 manicurists (vs. 32,000 salons and 189,000 manicurists in 1993); U.S. hair coloring sales totaled more than $1.1 billion in 2001 (up 34 percent since 1997); 71 percent of US women aged 45-54 dye their hair to cover gray, 13 percent of men do. During the break, Postrel signed copies of the book, organized by Barnes and Noble. No student discount though :( Quote of the hour: On living in Texas: "People think that Dallas is all about oil, but it's not--it's all about the 3 R's: retailing, restaurants and real estate." |
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Duane Smith & Stéfane Barbeau (Vessel & Release1) This dynamic duo dazzled the crowd with a two-part presentation; the first on "non-fictional design" (Vessel), the second on "fictional design" (Release1). Sharing their development criteria for Vessel, they boiled it down to a seven-part list: All products are authentic; all products are smart and lovable; all products have longevity; all products have clear value; all products we would use ourselves; no products are self-indulgent; no products create more problems than they solve. They showed their first product family, Candela (a series of rechargable electric candles), moving through the process of line extension (Candeloo for kids, Candela Pro for restaurants and hotels), then progressed through their second product family, Fusionware, (comprised of dishes and tableware--"styled utility"), and their third, Squat (from squatters, with a makeshift/found influence), made up of furnishings and accessories. Flipping the switch, they moved on to their initiatives with Release1, a design collective that explores the conceptual limits of object and design. They started with their development criteria for Release1, worth noting: all projects are fictional, but based in real-world contexts; all projects have face appeal, but also many levels of interpretation; all projects have a dark side and a light side; all projects are the best, worst, and simplest solution at the same time; no projects are angry (some are passive-aggressive, however). The crowd was wowed by examples from their Disturb Delight Design show: Forrest Lick, Ryan McManus, and Charlotte McManus's Fatwear (a transparent coat filled with human fat for insulation); Stefane's Spirograph tattoo kit; and Beth Mosher's Baco-Blitz (a disposable bacon fryer that plugs a single strip into a wall outlet). The McDonald's Project drew similar enthusiasm from the audience: Stéfane and Duane's Voting Fries (with tear off ballot); Eric Johnson's The Gateway Arches (St. Louis Arch twinned to mimic the McD. logo); and Tracy Fleming-Swyst and Thomas Swyst's My First Drive-Thru toy. Quote of the hour: On Walmart and perceived value: "[A place like Walmart] is not really saving you money; it simply allows you to buy more." |
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John Christakos (Blu Dot) John Christakos began by tracing his route to becoming a furniture entrepreneur, meeting his two partners in college: "I did two majors in school, one in sculpture and one in economics--so one major for me and one major for my dad." He described a lot of hard work ("People think that it's magic how these firms appear, but the truth is that it's pretty ugly behind the scenes"), and some nice helpings of luck (when they took their first product to the ICFF show in New York in 1997, they were flooded with interest, writing orders from the minute the show opened, "but we didn't even take pens!" They then returned to their Minnesota office to figure out how to make all the stuff to fill those orders. When retailers started calling to complain that they hadn't received their orders, UPS went on strike--giving them some nice breathing room.) Blu Dot prides itself on making stuff that is affordable, but not bargain basement: "We're not the Old Navy of furniture, we're more like the Banana Republic of furniture." Almost none of their products requires expensive tooling; they try to use off-the-shelf materials in simple, inventive ways. Christakos discussed a couple of products that posed some challenges: the function of the Flip Me table (a rotating, two-sided dining table skewered down the middle) was hard to get across in the retail setting; a wavy shelving system was in development for over a year before it was finally, um, shelved (he thinks they got seduced by the form). Discussing these kinds of failures was particularly useful to the student audience, demonstrating that design development isn't necessarily a straight-forward path. But perhaps Christakos's most eloquent statement came near the beginning of his presentation: "We first consider all the criteria of the product--how it appears on the shelf, how it goes into the back of the store, the merchandising, how it's shipped to the customer--The 'how does it look' part comes at the end--it's the residue of the process." Quote of the hour: Advice to anyone trying to start a product line: "Try to estimate how much money you're going to need, and then double it. Uh...triple it." |
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Yves Behar (Fuseproject) The second day of presentations was wrapped up by Yves Behar, head of Fuseproject, a firm engaged in both experimental and commercial product development. His mantra was "Design brings stories to life," and he shared several case studies with the audience. Fuseproject's work for the Mini car resulted in several products ("the Mini car is now more medium than mini; we actually call it the 'midi' in the studio"): a two-part slipper-shoe, a watch with a rotating digital readout, a bag that attaches via the seatbelt, and a line of clothes with detachable map pocket. Behar's been getting a lot of ink for his work with Birkenstock (a company more than 200 years old), and shared his challenge to both honor tradition and to find something new. The Footprints line is "designed from the inside out," and is comprised of 70 designs, all preserving the natural cork/latex sole mixture. He went on to show Space Scent perfume bottles--the first, an oversized slab with precious reservoir; the second (the complete opposite) a small travel capsule with rubberized exterior and perfume vial within. Next, Behar shared a project they had done as part of "Reconstruct," an invitational from Nike. The company received a boxful of Nike products (shoes, clothing) which they then turned around and ran through a wood chipper (the whole thing--including the instructions and an enclosed digital camera). The result was an Andy Goldsworthy-esque mat, all the chips arranged by color, with latex balls referencing an ancient Mayan game. Behar concluded his presentation exhorting the audience to think of fairness--to each other and to the environment, and displayed a hydrogen-propelled scooter, and HIP holistic beauty products with airless packaging (no air means no need to add preservative chemicals to the mix). Quote of the hour: On style, and how it's ideologized: "Fashion and fascism are synonymous words" |