Table of Contents

Sections

1- Team Approach

2- Problem Solving

3- Creativity

- Subjects I Would Like To Know More About

- Things That Inspire Me

4- Bad Designs

- Good Designs

5- Interesting Design Problems

- My Designs

6- Design Process

Sections of the portfolio may be accessed from this table of contents, or from the "Sections" menu at the side of the page.

MacBook Charger

The MacBook charger qualifies as both good and bad design, as some elements place it in one category, others in another. I usually tend to explain it as a great design with serious flaws.

The Good: MagSafe

Unlike most laptop charging cables, the MacBook cable attaches solely by magnet. If for some reason the cable is yanked (or tripped over, or gets caught on something...), it quickly detaches to prevent the computer from tumbling to the floor. I have been saved by this feature countless times and the MagSafe adaptor is one of the features of my computer that I appreciate most.

The Bad:

This charger also qualifies as a bad design due to it's stunning lack of durability. My first charger came with my computer and looked like this:

As can be seen in this photo, the plastic sheathing tended to detach from the connector and leave wire exposed. This was a very common problem, leading to a class-action lawsuit and eventually a redesigned charger. After mine became unusable, I bought the new design, which looked like this:

This eliminated a lot of the stress on the connector, but caused a whole new slew of problems. First, the connectors on a MacBook look like this:

The port on the left is where the charger cable attaches. When the cable is attached in one direction, it blocks the Ethernet and mini-DVI ports. When attached in the other direction, it tends to bend close to the connector, and the plastic sheathing begins to split. In my experience, these chargers (both the old and new design) have a lifespan of about two years before they need to be replaced.

Wegmans Reusable Shopping Bags

When Wegmans' asked their customers what features they would like to see in reusable bags, the responses nearly perfectly matched what I look for in a reusable bag.

• Waterproof material that can be cleaned with a sponge
• Sturdy straps
• Flat bottom to prevent tipping, increase capacity

Wegmans' bags are some of my favorites. They are not an inconvenience I am willing to deal with for the sake of the environment- I actually enjoy using them more than plastic bags because they meet my needs better than plastic bags ever could.

Reusable Shopping Bags

I do not mean to suggest that reusable shopping bags are a bad idea, merely that the majority of these bags that are sold are poorly designed.

Mistake #1: Cloth

All reuasable grocery bags should be waterproof. Things happen on the way home from the grocery store: eggs break, milk bottles leak, fluids escape from packages of meat. Cloth bags are not up to the task of containing these messes.

Mistake #2: Not Square Bottoms

This is an area where the plastic bag can not only be equaled, but surpassed. Reusable bags can take a much greater variety of shapes and sizes. Their sturdier construction means that they can be bigger and more rigid, leading to much more efficient packing of groceries. I use two very large reusable bags, and often fit about 5-8 plastic bags-worth of groceries into the pair.

Both of the types of bags pictured above do not efficiently meet the needs of the consumer, but many other reusable bags do.

Rubbermaid Chug Bottle

The Rubbermaid Chug bottle earns the distinction of being the worst water bottle I have ever owned. It was difficult to grip and would often slip out of my hand. It was small and had only 20 oz capacity. It was prone to sweating. But the very worst of all, it leaked. The white cap over the mouth piece opened far too easily- it would open on its own while being bounced around in my backpack, or when I dropped it. This $2.50 water bottle caused at least $200 worth of water damage before I finally threw it away. I needed a leakproof and durable water bottle (as do many other consumers), and this product did not meet my needs.

Alberto Giacometti

My Photos

More Photos

One of the design topics that I would like to know more about is composition, because it is a crucial part of photography. I didn't "design" the landscapes in these photos, but I did design the view that I wanted to capture and how I wanted to place the frame.

That Sort of Town

"That Sort of Town" was and incredibly short-lived photo comic that I attempted with my friend a few years ago using a children's play set. No one else found it quite as amusing as we did, and each comic was a large time investment so we stopped after only a few stories. The premise was a sort of Stepford/Suburgatory set-up, about a very small, WASP-y, conservative town and the residents' reactions to changes in the status quo.

The Library Phantom

Articles by Robert Krulwich, art by Anonymous

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/10/28/141795907/who-left-a-tree-then-a-coffin-in-the-library

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/11/29/142910393/the-library-phantom-returns

The amount of detail and effort that went into each of these sculptures is breathtaking. Books are an unorthodox medium, and these displays exhibit a great deal of creativity.

Design Process

What I Learned

The most important thing that I learned in MAE451 was what the design process looks like in a commercial environment. I knew that they had to be a formal structure behind product design, but I was not sure what it would look like .My career aspirations are to one day work in the design or engineering department of a toy company, so this class served as exposure to what a job like that would entail. In a way, it was like a semester-long Realistic Job Preview.

I also learned that the very beginning of the design process should start from a need, something that I had never considered before. I suppose I have a very cynical view of a very materialistic culture, but the idea that each product is a design created in response to a need was a much more shocking discovery than it should have been. I always assumed that, for the most part, the product came first, and then it was up to the marketing department to create a need. Reflecting on it now, all great products must start as a need. All of my favorite belongings make life easier or solve a problem. In many cases, they solve a problem I never knew that I had until I used them.

Another important concept that I learned for the first time in MAE 451 was that you should never evaluate while brainstorming. I like to overthink things, and in the past any brainstorming activities have always been hampered by thoughts like “That would never work.” Thinking like that breaks the flow of ideas and kills creativity, a lesson that I learned during the divergent design portion of mini-project three. I have even applied this lesson to my group work in the MBA program. As a team, we always evaluated ideas while brainstorming but now we are working on breaking this habit, and we are already starting to become more effective.

My Design Philosophy

I am finally able to verbalize my design philosophy after reading “beautiful thing” by Robert Clay. The first chapter of the book contains a section called “Design Clichés,” which lists and explains the common clichés of many different schools of design (modernists, post-modernists, Arts and Crafts). My favorites are “Form follows function,” “Less is more,” “Form follows emotion,” and “Form expresses function.” I believe that the most mundane everyday objects should be not only functional, but also beautiful. This includes large objects such as appliances and furniture, to smaller items such as kitchenware, electronics, or even disposable items such as toothbrushes. One of the best examples I have of this principle in practice is my parents’ stove, which was designed by the company that is now Revolve Design Inc. It is over twenty years old, so I could not find a picture, but it is a beautiful, elegant example of what is often a purely functional object, without having any needless decoration of ornamentation. It also follows the principle of “Form expresses function”- the knob that controls the griddle is easily distinguishable from the knobs controlling the gas burners. Arthur C. Clarke said that any sufficiently advanced technology is “indistinguishable from magic,” but when it comes to design, I do not believe this should be the case. An object’s form should express both what it is used for and how to use it.

I also believe that design should be accessible. There is an incredible range in size, age, and ability in the world and many products do not allow for these factors. I believe that designs should be held to the standards of Design for All: products, systems, and services should be usable, without adaptation, by as many people as possible. Sustainability constraints should also be placed on design; as a species, we can no longer claim ignorance of the harm that we have done to the environment. Minimizing any further damages to the planet is the responsible thing to do.

Good design:

• · Meets a need
• · Is considerate of end-users
• · Is convenient to use
• · Can be utilized by anyone
• · Is minimally harmful to the environment
• · Can be used with a minimum of instruction and explanation
• · Makes the product’s function readily apparent
• · Is honest (no plastic that looks like wood, no fasteners used solely for show)
• · Is pleasurable (pleasing to look at and use)

Bad design:

• · Is functional at the expense of beauty
• · Is beautiful at the expense of function
• · Does not consider the circumstances of the user
• · Can only be used by certain segments of the population
• · Causes unnecessary harm to the environment
• · Is difficult to use and understand
• · Is dishonest (claims to fulfill functions it cannot)
• · Is frustrating

Though I am interested in designing nearly any sort of consumer product, I am most interested in designing toys. I wasn’t allowed video games when I was young, and my access to television was incredibly limited, so most of my free time was spent in imaginative play with dolls and blocks. As I grew older, I played with my own toys less often, but as a frequent baby-sitter, I never really stopped playing with toys. In a way, the past twenty two years of my life have been market research. I am also very passionate about the importance of play in childhood development. I would love to design toys that encourage imaginative play. These perspectives and experiences would inform my work as a designer. I’ve seen firsthand the joy, wonder, and learning that a great toy can create, and this is what I would strive to accomplish.

Design Principles I Would Like to Know More About

Topics I Would Like To Know More About

• Composition- the placement of elements, especially as relates to photography
• Color- Color can be instrumental in creating emotions and impressions in design. There is a great deal of psychology and symbolism behind color that I would like to learn more about in order to be able to use color more effectively.
• Typography- Like color, font choice is an element of design where tiny changes can make a large difference. I would love to learn more about choosing the right font for a design, or even about creating fonts.
• Gamification- Gamification is the process of designing products, systems, and services that use the motivational power of games to make a difference. There is a body of growing research on this topic that I would like to explore.
• Interactive Architecture- Interactive Architecture is the idea that environments, powered by ubiquitous computing, can interact with, and encourage interactions between, the people who inhabit them.
• User Interface design- A growing portion of our lives are spent on mobile devices and the web, and the way we interact with the technology around us is nearly always through a graphical user interface. I want to learn more about the rules of good design for user interfaces, and the metaphors that they utilize to improve user understanding.
• Ubiquitous computing- Design in a world where practically all objects are "smart" and networked
• Childhood development- It would be very helpful to have a solid understanding of childhood development in order to be able to design toys. Knowing what is developmentally appropriate for a certain age, how children learn, and what interests them would all be helpful topics to inform the design of toys.
• Packaging design- So much packaging is frustrating, wasteful, and inefficient that there a large opportunities for improvement. I find both the environmental and the human aspects of this topic intriguing.

List of Books I Would Like to Read:

• "Change by Design" by Tim Brown
• "Designing for the Digital Age: How to Create Human-Centered Products and Services" by Kim Goodwin
• "Designing with the Mind In Mind: Simple Guide to Understanding User Interface Design Rules" by Jeff Johnson
• "4dsocial: Interactive Design Environments" by Lucy Bullivant
• "Interactive Architecture" by Michael Fox
• "Exploring Materials: Creative Design for Everyday Objects" by Inna Alesina and Ellen Lupton
• "Materials for Inspirational Design" by Chris Lefteri

Approaches to Design and Problem Solving

When I have to design something or solve a problem, my first step is always to locate a large enough white board. Writing on white board has just enough permanence for creative thought- ideas can be written down quickly so that there is no need to remember them, but they can also be erased, completely and totally, just as quickly. To me, writing things down on paper feels so incredibly final. After a life spent writing with computers, where edits and deletions are so easy and fast, I dislike writing anything on paper, even with a pencil, if I believe that I might change it later. On the other hand, computers can be cumbersome when any sort of complicated formatting is necessary. White boards are the perfect solution.

My second step is to write down everything that I know about the problem: assets, liabilities, constraints and other factors that will affect my final decision. My homework board (an 8' by 4' white board on the wall in my room) is a great example of this. In addition to a semester-long calendar of due dates and activities, I keep a running list of things that I need to accomplish in the near future and any events of circumstances that might interfere. When I have too much homework and too little time, I write down all of my responsibilities and roughly how much time I believe they will take. I also use this board for idea generation and design. When I had to design an chimney cover for MAE 377, I sketched out my ideas on this white board so that I could see how possible components would work together. I even used this board to keep track of ideas for this portfolio. Walking past the board every day gave me hundreds of chances to write down ideas on a whim. When a section was completed, it was erased, giving me a visual indication of my progress. I use smaller white boards when I'm working on web design. I like to start out with a rough layout on a white board, and I'll experiment with the size and layout of images, text, and whitespace until I'm happy enough to start mockups in Adobe Fireworks. A slightly different approach is needed in web design than in other projects, as often I have relatively little say in contents and control over final decisions.

Most often, the third step of my problem solving process is to make a decision. I do not have a formalized decision-making process, or even guidelines. I evaluate options quantitatively, but often end up choosing based on emotion or intuition.

After thinking about how I approached problems or designs, I began asking my family and friends. I considered observing them, to see firsthand how they solved problems, but I came to the conclusion that much of the important work of designing or problem solving occurs only in the mind. I believed that more detail would be available by directly asking people how they approached designing or solving problems. I was very surprised by the variety of responses. It was shocking how many unique and interesting responses I received, especially from some of the people that I am closest to.

Jennie (21, college student, Major: Communications)- Solves problems visually, by writing out on paper

Mrs Katz (75, retired teacher)- Mrs. Katz likes to first give the problem a lot of thought. She stressed to me that she tries very hard to never make a hasty decision, so she tries to think through all aspects of the problem and possible solutions first. Next, she talks the problem over with friends or other people that she respects in order to hear their opinions and to compare them with her own. With the additional information, she thinks about the problem a little longer before finally deciding how she will approach it.

Beth (20, college student, Major: Anthropology)- When Beth has a problem, she likes to think of related information in order to create a basis of comparison. For instance, she explained that in order to solve personal problems, she thinks of books that she has read of people in similar situations, and considers the character's actions and the consequences. She also likes to consult other people, to see if they have perspectives that she missed. Interestingly, Beth is the only young person that I interviewed who mentioned consulting other people as a first resort rather than last.

Lauren (22, college student, Major: Pharmacy)- Lauren talked to me about designing the objects that she crochets. She first considers what type of object she would like to create- it's function. She considers her resources (time, money, craft supplies) that she has available and her needs and wants at the moment (visiting family friends and need a hostess gift, wanting to decorate for Christmas, needing a bag to hold her needles), before deciding what type of project she is going to begin. She then begins to think about the details, such as which types of yarn she is going to need, what colors or types of stitches she would like to use, and generally what she wants it to look like. This roughly follows the design process that we used in the miniprojects (problem definition, concept generation, embodiment design and detailed design).

Mark (22, college student, Major: Sculpture)- Mark explained that the first part of his design process is continuous research. Every week he spends hours on the internet looking at images from artists' and design websites in order to stay on top of what is being done, as well as reading news articles. Mark's artwork is very topical, and often politically charged so his "design problems" are provided by current events. The images and articles are also sometimes used for what were called "forced connections" in class. Next, Mark begins the sketching or modelling process, in order to determine if he wants to develop each idea further; this is his initial filtering process. The final filtering process usually hinges on the criteria of manufacturability- before starting embodiment or detail design, Mark thinks about the materials that he will use and how he will assemble them in order to decide if want he wants to create is possible.

David (50, inventor)- David starts out by asking himself two questions about a problem he is trying to design a product to solve: "Is it worth solving?" and "How much is it worth to someone to fix this problem for them?" Industry and market research are necessary to answer these questions. He then attempts to come up with any requirements for the product and how they can be fulfilled. He starts from a functional viewpoint- what does a mechanism need to accomplish? Which mechanisms are capable of accomplishing this? Which mechanism is best? Next, he considers how much such a machine would cost and whether anyone would be willing to pay that much for it. If the initial design is too costly, he thinks of what functions might be acceptable at what price points and attempts a variant design.

Dana (17, high school student)- Dana responded to the question, "How do you solve problems?" with the cryptic response, "In my dreams." She said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world and I was left reeling. With prompting, she explained that she thinks about her problems before she goes to bed, and then she dreams about them. When I asked if she tried multiple solutions in her dreams or just one, she clarified that she only tries one solution in her dreams, but this usually is not the solution to her problem. The solution that she attempts in her dream is usually ridiculous, but when she wakes up, a better solution will pop into her head. Dana is my sister, and had never told me any of this before. She expressed equal surprise that I don't dream about my problems as I expressed that she did.

Mary (21, college student, Major: Education)- When Mary has to design something or solve a problem, she writes down a list of ideas, and then picks one based on intuition. If it doesn't work, she chooses a new idea from the list and then tries again. She described this as "intuition by trial-and-error."

Laura (21, college student, Major: Education)- Laura begins to solve a problem by first carefully defining it. Instead of labeling an entire situation as a problem, she considers which particular aspect is a problem, or why a situation is a problem at all. She then thinks of two or three simple solutions and attempts to implement those first. If none of them work, she will begin to consider progressively more complicated solutions. Eventually when she is completely out of realistic ideas, Laura will consult other people for suggestions.

Erica (18, college student, Major: Speech Pathology)- The most important part of Erica's creative process is procrastination. When she needs to generate ideas, she will first come up with two or three immediately upon beginning the project. She then will completely ignore the project until three or four days before the deadline. The pressure of this severe, self-imposed time restraint forces her to write down ideas that she would otherwise have considered not good enough. She prevents herself from evaluating ideas during the brainstorming process by putting herself in a position where this is not an option. She also uses the internet and popular culture as inspiration- looking at her favorite websites, or thinking of books or television shows to get ideas. As a last resort, Erica consults other people, but only through digital technology such as texting or instant messaging.

Audrey (44, Registered Nurse)- Audrey tries to put systems in place that will allow her to solve problems. She created a place to put her keys every night so that she wouldn't lose them, and created a system that she uses to schedule her time and prioritize tasks.

Tessa (14, high school student)- When Tessa designs something, she first sketches a simple idea. She then considers all of the requirements of the design and makes any necessary modifications, adding or changing parts until she believes it will be able to fulfill its function. She then prototypes or otherwise tests her design; if it doesn't work, she attempts to figure out what went wrong before trying to improve the design and trying again.

Julie (21, college student, Major: Brain and Cognitive Sciences )- Julie described her problem solving process as an "optimized exhaustive enumeration approach." She starts by considering the problem and a set of possible solutions, then picks a solution based on inferences and past experience. If it fails, she picks the next most viable option and repeats the process until she finds a working solution.

Alexandra (21, college student, Major: English)- Alexandra uses a forced connections approach to creativity. She decides on a theme for the types of ideas that she wants to generate and then repeats certain words in her head while holding a mental image of her theme. She next sorts her ideas into categories and tries to think of additional ideas in these categories that she might have missed.

Donald (10, sixth grade)- Most of the problems that Donald solves are challenges in video games. His approach to solving these problems is to watch videos of other people playing the game on YouTube or to search video game forums for suggestions.

Architecture

The Guggenheim

Beijing National Aquatics Center

Klein Bottle House

Darwin Martin House

Samitaur Tower

Maurizio Catellan

Mini Project Team Approaches

Our team approached the design mini-projects through extensive dialogue. A the first meeting for each project, we would talk about the prompt and share any details about benefits and constraints that we were already aware of. We would then do further research to build on our knowledge before we discussed all that we had learned and chose a problem to focus on. We then would discuss ideas for requirements. During this stage, I would often play the role of gatekeeper. I would encourage those who had not yet contributed to speak up and try to prevent other members of the group from dominating the conversation. In addition to this "maintenance" role, I also took on many other "task" roles, such as time-keeper, facilitator, and note-taker. I made sure that the group stayed on topic and on schedule, in addition to recording all group members ideas.

About half of the work for our projects was done individually, with meetings then used to integrate our work and information. The other half of the work was completed in group sessions, this included tasks such as determining requirements, generating ideas, and filtering and selecting concepts. These were activities where the multiple perspectives of group members were not only helpful but necessary, as opposed to research and writing, which were accomplished much more efficiently on an individual basis.

I am not aware of what strategies other teams utilized this semester, but as part of both a team for this class and a team for the MBA program, I can safely say that every team has a different personality and needs different things. For example, many different maintenance roles such as "harmonizer" (a group member who attempts to smooth over ruffled feathers and hurt feelings) was unnecessary in my MAE451 team, but crucial in my MBA team. How a team runs is not just a function of the personalities in the team, it is also a function of the combination of personalities in the team. Having a brusk team member will change the dynamic of any team, but will have an even greater impact when another team member has feelings that are easily bruised.

Group cohesiveness and trust between members is also a determining factor in group structure and process. If team members like each other, and trust that each will do their best to move the team to a positive outcome, there will be less conflict within the team and less need for external motivation from outside of the team. My MAE451 team did not know each other particularly well, and had relatively low committment to working as a team. Members were only concerned with group outcomes as far as it affected them as individuals. This was a very unhealthy team dynamic, and lead to destructive individual behaviors that hampered the effectiveness of the team. Negative norms were established early, such as not being prepared for meetings, casual internet usage during research sessions, and being late or absent from team meetings.

Team process is also often adjusted in order to avoid conflict. For example, my MBA team is a mix of Judgers and Perceivers, as well as Sensors and Intuiters. We disagree on how and when an assignment can be completed most effectively, so elements of our group process are designed to account for this. Intuiters do most of the early work on the project, dealing with the big picture, while sensors focus most of their efforts on the tasks they enjoy most and are best at, making sure the details are perfect. We also set ourselves fake deadlines- so that the Perceivers are satisfied with their ability to make changes up to the very last minute and the Judgers do not have nervous breakdowns as the real deadline begins to approach.

Team function is also determined by the skill of each team member. Effective team behaviors take a lot of practice to master, and having team members who are unskilled at teamwork can damage a team's efforts and necessitate a change in the way the team functions. My MBA team functioned for the first semester by allowing group members to choose which part of each assignment they would like to be responsible for, under the belief that people put more effort into work that they have chosen themselves. We quickly learned, however, that one member of our group would never volunteer for any tasks, and would only work if he had been assigned something. Our team had to switch from a positive, healthy team behavior to a potentially toxic one in order to accommodate our team member's lack of skill.