http://www.genometri.com/pdf/Form_Exploration.pdf
This is a paper on form exploration. some of the things...specially visuals are interesting as they are visual representations of what we call "iterations" and it also talks about a few ways one can explore form.
Although when i started my form exploration, it didnt hit my mind initially that what i was working with i.e. weaves and interesting in themselves, and a simple form might help the user explore the fascinating effects of the weaves and light as opposed to only the over all form.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Adaptation-2
This is a brief charting of how processes need to be changed around according to the context. here i have differentiated the nokia process from the current one.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
"Material"-istic
As i go on with my project, i continue to discover how one, as a designer, should be able to adapt to situations. each project, brings in a new range of possibilities, probabilities and problems. it is so essential to evaluate and understand these.
after doing a fair amount of research, when i started my ideation, i started off with form explorations. but as i went on i realized how, as a new-age designer, my thoughts are influenced by the way plastics work. minute flanges, complicated forms etc. started reflecting in my sketches. but then when i looked back at it, i understood that it was a completely different set of materials that my drawings were reflecting.
the beauty of bamboo is the intricate weaves, the varying thicknesses and colour of each strip, the beauty of the "the difference" which i didn't account for. hence, i decided to go back and look into basketry!
after doing a fair amount of research, when i started my ideation, i started off with form explorations. but as i went on i realized how, as a new-age designer, my thoughts are influenced by the way plastics work. minute flanges, complicated forms etc. started reflecting in my sketches. but then when i looked back at it, i understood that it was a completely different set of materials that my drawings were reflecting.
the beauty of bamboo is the intricate weaves, the varying thicknesses and colour of each strip, the beauty of the "the difference" which i didn't account for. hence, i decided to go back and look into basketry!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
"Litracon" - light transmitting concrete
LitraCube Semi-Transparent Concrete Lamp
By Evan Ackerman
The LitraCube lamp is made of four concrete blocks with a lightbulb in the middle. Not the greatest idea for a lamp, you might be thinking… But that’s because you’ve never seen semi-transparent concrete blocks before. Litracon (light transmitting concrete) is normal concrete with thousands of parallel optical fibers embedded into it. The strength of the concrete is unaffected, and the fibers pass light and color straight through the blocks. So, now you can build your very own glass house and throw all the stones you want.
Litracon itself is available as a conventional building material in a variety of colors and fiber patterns (like the layered and organic examples above). Unsurprisingly, the price of this stuff is not for the faint of heart: the cheapest it gets (25mm thick unsealed) will run you $1,000 per square meter… But you can buy the lamp for only $770. Plus shipping from Hungary.
Evan Ackerman. (Unknown). LitraCube Semi-Transparent Concrete Lamp. Available: http://www.ohgizmo.com/2007/08/17/litracube-semi-transparent-concrete-lamp/. Last accessed 29 July 2008.
Adaptation
I feel, the most remarkable and essential thing of a design process is the capability and need to adapt to a situation. When I started my diploma project, my initial thought was to superimpose the nokia design process with the current project. As i went on with the project i realised that its not possible to do a Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V when we talk about design processes. each project need a re-look at the methodology. e.g. Lampshades are not as user centric as a phone. hence, users cant be the center of the process.
Friday, July 18, 2008
The "flat" world
" No one gave me directions like this on a golf course before: "Aim at either Microsoft or IBM." I was standing on the first tee at the KGA Golf Club in downtown Bangalore, in southern India when my playing partner pointed at two shiny glass-and-steel buildings off in the distance, just behind the first green. The Goldman Sachs building wasn't done yet; otherwise he could have pointed that out as well and made it a threesome. HP and Texas Instruments had their offices on the back nine, along the tenth hole. That wasn't all. The tee markers were from Epson, the printer company, and one of our caddies was wearing a hat from 3M. Outside, some of the traffic signs were also sponsored by Texas Instruments, and the Pizza Hut billboard on the way over showed a steaming pizza, under the headline "Gigabites of Taste!"
No, this definitely wasn't Kansas. It didn't even seem like India. Was this the New World, the Old World, or the Next World?...
..."Honey," I confided, "I think the world is flat." "
Thomas Friedman. (2005). While I was sleeping. In: Paul Elie The World is Flat. Unknown ed. Great Britain: Penguin group. 3-4.
No, this definitely wasn't Kansas. It didn't even seem like India. Was this the New World, the Old World, or the Next World?...
..."Honey," I confided, "I think the world is flat." "
Thomas Friedman. (2005). While I was sleeping. In: Paul Elie The World is Flat. Unknown ed. Great Britain: Penguin group. 3-4.
Designing Freedom
Designing Freedom
By Poonam Bir Kasturi, Bangalore INDIA
"To summarise the points made against craft –
1. Craft is an old, inefficient way of production
2. Craft is not and should not be an important item on the national agenda
3. Technology is the most important tool we have to “solve” our problems not craft.
4. Craftsmen don’t have a great image of their own work (perhaps of themselves too?) they wouldn’t want their children to work as they do.
5. The best thing to do is to turn it into a tourist attraction – nothing more.
6. Current Indian craft is mostly kitsch, non-utilitarian.
This list highlights a perception shared by a large group of people as well as the policy makers – it seems to be the current construct in India surrounding craft."
"...as Amartya Sen (1999) says, we need to include them:
“An adequate approach of development cannot really be so centered only on those in power. The reach has to be broader, and the need for popular participation is not just sanctimonious rubbish. Indeed, the idea of development cannot be dissociated from it.” "
"I started asking questions like – “Is there a different way for design to engage with craft?” “What can design contribute to craft – apart from just ‘packaged designs’ for others to thoughtlessly reproduce?” "
"Myth 1
“Craftspeople can’t be expected to design contemporary products; they need to link up with someone who has an exposure to the urban and international markets”."
"Myth 2
“Craftspeople need to be trained in skills and new technologies.” "
"Myth 3
We must gear up to increase export – it is finally the best market for Indian Craft (look at our software industry)"
"Myth 4
Craft is antiquated – needs to get in line with the 21sth century"
To read the entire paper, please visit.... http://www.playnspeak.com/finalpaper.pdf
Poonam Bir Kasturi. (Unknown). Designing Freedom. Available: http://www.playnspeak.com/finalpaper.pdf. Last accessed 18 July 2008.
By Poonam Bir Kasturi, Bangalore INDIA
"To summarise the points made against craft –
1. Craft is an old, inefficient way of production
2. Craft is not and should not be an important item on the national agenda
3. Technology is the most important tool we have to “solve” our problems not craft.
4. Craftsmen don’t have a great image of their own work (perhaps of themselves too?) they wouldn’t want their children to work as they do.
5. The best thing to do is to turn it into a tourist attraction – nothing more.
6. Current Indian craft is mostly kitsch, non-utilitarian.
This list highlights a perception shared by a large group of people as well as the policy makers – it seems to be the current construct in India surrounding craft."
"...as Amartya Sen (1999) says, we need to include them:
“An adequate approach of development cannot really be so centered only on those in power. The reach has to be broader, and the need for popular participation is not just sanctimonious rubbish. Indeed, the idea of development cannot be dissociated from it.” "
"I started asking questions like – “Is there a different way for design to engage with craft?” “What can design contribute to craft – apart from just ‘packaged designs’ for others to thoughtlessly reproduce?” "
"Myth 1
“Craftspeople can’t be expected to design contemporary products; they need to link up with someone who has an exposure to the urban and international markets”."
"Myth 2
“Craftspeople need to be trained in skills and new technologies.” "
"Myth 3
We must gear up to increase export – it is finally the best market for Indian Craft (look at our software industry)"
"Myth 4
Craft is antiquated – needs to get in line with the 21sth century"
To read the entire paper, please visit.... http://www.playnspeak.com/finalpaper.pdf
Poonam Bir Kasturi. (Unknown). Designing Freedom. Available: http://www.playnspeak.com/finalpaper.pdf. Last accessed 18 July 2008.
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