HP Fresh

more to come...

Makin' a computer

Awesome

I need these right now. Anyone who feels like buying them for me is more than welcome.

Inspiration: Part Three

Time for round 3. This time we're looking at Boris Tellegen a.k.a. Delta.



Hailing from Amsterdam, he originally studied industrial design but after graduating decided to take his career in a new direction. His work is made up of strong 3-D elements and very architecture-esque geometry. Overall I just love his overall style and color choices. Cool stuff.

Transmetropolitan Cat

This isn't really design related, but I just saw this article and had to post about it. Apparently this cat was born with two faces in Australia. Anyone familiar with Transmetropolitan will instantly see the resemblance.


Two-Faced Kitten Born in Australia [Fox News]

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth

So I'm working on this shirt design for Threadless. The title?

Washington B.C.

Here's how it looks so far.


Once this is finished I expect all of you to go out and vote for it like no tomorrow.

Inspiration: Part Two

Of course I've been inspired by more than just Dieter Rams, so I'll fill in a couple more designers in the next couple days. Today we'll take a look at Syd Mead.
Just about everyone who's familiar with 80's science fiction movies is familiar with the work of Syd Mead. As "visual futurist" he took it upon himself to create wildly stylized designs with lots of chrome and sharp edges. Despite the fact that no future will ever look like the one Syd envisioned, all of his designs have a remarkable amount of detail that makes them seem almost feasible. He keeps the compositions lively with excellent use of color and shapes.

None of his designs are intended to become a real product, so it makes sense that very little thought goes into how they would work. This approach is very contrary to that of Dieter Rams, who makes sure that every part has a purpose and all extraneous bits are removed. Just because it's completely pointless doesn't mean I don't want my own light-up umbrella though.

USB

Here are the results of my latest DesCom assignment.


If Nintendo decided to make some USB drives, this is totally what they would look like.

Inspiration: Part One

Everyone has inspiration. It's an important part of developing your own signature style. Ask any designer who inspires them and they'll probably be able to produce a list on the spot. One of the most influential designers for me is Dieter Rams.

He originally studied architecture, but is most famous for the work he did as chief of design at Braun from 1961-1995. His designs are all clean and functional, with clear details that visually describe its operation. He has described his design philosophy with the phrase "Weniger, aber besser", which translates as "less, but better".

Dieter Rams 10 Principles of Good Design:
1. Good design is innovative.

2. Good design makes a product useful.

3. Good design is aesthetic.

4. Good design helps us to understand a product.

5. Good design is unobtrusive.

6. Good design is honest.

7. Good design is durable.

8. Good design is consequent to the last detail.

9. Good design is concerned with the environment.

10. Good design is as little design as possible.

Back to purity, back to simplicity.

The Future

As technology progresses more and more rapidly, several key developments will determine how we move into the future. These are a few of the technologies that I think will drive innovation and expand our horizons in the next 20-50 years.

1. Nanotech.

The creation of tiny machines has advanced exponentially in the past 10 years. In the near future, I can see this picking up even more speed. These tiny robots will be able to enhance our immune system, find and repair damage in both machines and people, and even recombine materials at the atomic level to instantly create an object from a stored image of it's molecular structure. Once it reaches this point, stores as we know them will become completely obsolete and everything will become instantly available to anyone. This will probably represent the single greatest shift in the way our society functions of all time.

2. Artificial IntelligenceDespite our recent achievements in the realm of A.I., we're still a long way from the kind of thing we've seen in movies. What is currently known as A.I. is typically just an illusion of intelligence as a program reacts to inputs and determines a response based on pre-programmed code that prioritizes goals from an existing list. These A.I.s are usually designed to exist within a specific environment and the illusion is destroyed as soon as they are removed from it. Once we break through and create a program that can learn the same way a human does, a whole range of developments will emerge as a result; ranging from more intelligent software that learns and grows over time to androids that can perform dangerous or unwanted tasks instead of people.

3. Connectivity

The internet is only the beginning. As it develops, the world will become increasingly connected. Knowledge will become more accessible and shared freely. As our understanding of the human mind develops, it may even become possible to add memories and knowledge to our minds directly from another source, resulting in a widespread and instantaneous burst in global productivity and innovation. When everyone knows everything, anything is possible and probable.






The downside is that any one of these developments, or one of a hundred more,
could potentially throw our society into chaos and result in a massive collapse of government and economy. This looming danger is why all of these technologies will undoubtedly take much longer to arrive than otherwise, as multiple failsafes and other protective measures are put into place. Only time will tell what the outcome is going to be.

The Hook

As far as movie trailers go, there are a few key roles that they need to fill. First is to get your attention, then to outline the plot, and finally to give you a taste of what you can expect from the film. It's a fairly straightforward formula and hollywood has had plenty of time to perfect the art. Even most bad movies can at least manage a decent trailer, disguising the major flaws until the viewer has paid to see the real thing.

When a truly great movie come along however, and has a well-made trailer to accompany it, everything works together and even the most cynical audience member can see the effect. For example;





The trailer for Children of Men quickly hooks the viewer with it's premise. Humanity is on the brink of extinction due to a worldwide plague of infertility. Society is falling apart and everyone is losing hope of survival. However, one girl is miraculously pregnant for reasons unknown. The Human Project, a collection of the greatest minds on the planet, holds the best chances of finding a cure for the rest of mankind. The trailer finishes off with a collection of clips detailing the main characters' journey to the human project and giving the viewer an idea of the tension and drama that takes place. This is a fantastic example of a trailer that succeeds in its job of hooking the viewer and making them want to see the whole movie.

The Brand

When it comes to iconic brands, several usually come to mind. These vary from person to person, but they tend to have a few things in common.

• A strong visual identity
• A positive brand message
• A demonstrated commitment to their philosophy

The visual identity is primarily based around the logo. Although many brands update their logos over time, the best ones remain instantly recognizable. A brand that completely changes their logo needs to rebuild from scratch all the associations connected to their old identity.

The message connected to a brand conveys the qualities of their products, as well as the purpose they are designed to fulfill. When the message conveyed through advertising aligns with the actual product, customers recognize it and it increases their trust and commitment to the brand.

Commitment to a philosophy is something that only comes with time. Brands that have stuck to their guns since their founding in ye olde times have deeply entrenched their identity in the mind of the public and it often takes a lot of effort to change the popular opinion, be it good or bad.

A good example of these qualities is Lego.

Almost everyone is familiar with the brand and probably grew up playing with their building kits.
The literal translation of the name is "play well" and this has held true as long as they've existed. The positive memories that everyone has of playing with legos as a child have cemented a very good image of the brand in their minds. In fact, legos are so prevalent that even people with limited exposure to the toys are fully aware of the company's philosophy. This image is maintained even with relatively low levels of advertisement, as personal experiences lead their loyal customers to pass along their appreciation to their friends and family. Lego's commitment to quality has continued through to today, and the popularity of their products will likely continue for years to come.

Portfolio Tips

Design Sojourn put together an interesting look at several portfolios of well-known consultancies. Based on these examples, they organized some comments examining both the benefits of their approach and the potential dangers. Some of the key points presented are:

• don't be long-winded
• Include enough process work to explain where your concept came from
• Focus on your strengths and play them up

Designer Portfolio Shootout! [Design Sojourn]

The Beginning

My name is Ross Velazquez, I'm a design student at the University of Cincinnati. My newly installed nuclear power core allows me to produce designs far better than previous units. As work is produced, I plan to post it here as I progress through school this quarter and beyond.

As sketching is currently my weakest area, I'll be focusing on that for a while and with any luck you'll be able to see my improvements in real time.