Braun at 50 08/12/2009
 Phonotransistor TP 1, 1959, Braun  Sixtant SM 31, 1961, Braun Braun, a company that’s practically synonymous with great product design, has a 50-year design legacy. Braun has designed many daily use household products from juicers and irons to shavers and hair dryers. Braun’s origin goes back to the 1920s, but it became the global icon it is only post 1950. More than the products themselves however, it is interesting to see the way Braun has documented their 50-year history online. (click on Braun Design World after clicking English) The timeline starts at 1955, and extends to 2004. One product is showcased in each year. You can toggle between the product description, and the context, which is very interesting, and rarely seen in such detail in design documentation of such a large company. For example, for the first 8 products, the context explains the events at the time, which led to, or influenced the creation of these products. It tells us about the internal climate at the company, the success they were having, the products accounting for most of their sales, and Braun’s expansion and take over of other companies. Products designed back in the sixties have appeal even today, such is the classic timelessness of these pieces. Look at the Phonotransistor TP 1, from 1959, or the Sixtant SM 31 from 1962. These pieces look modern, and easy to use even fifty years later, today. From 1965 to 1974, products have a different context, with the company expanding, collaborating and entering more overseas markets. The Aromaster KF 20 Coffeemaker, from 1972, though unique in design, was too costly to stay for long in the market. (in 1984 they brought out its successor, the highly successful Aromaster KF 40) From 1975 to 1984, Braun decided to move more into the personal appliances market, especially oral care, an idea the visionary Braun brothers had been hatching since the sixties. You can also view the products by designers, and the list of these is formidable. Some were very influential designers of the time, such as Dieter Rams, Hans Gugelot, a teacher at the Ulm school, among others. These designers were strongly from the ‘form follows function’ school of thought, and it shows in their work. It is said that Ram’s designs have had a great influence on Jonathan Ive of Apple. Listed below are Dieter Ram’s ten principles to good design, which hold true to anything, in any era. Good design is innovative Good design makes a product useful Good design is aesthetic Good design helps us to understand a product Good design is unobtrusive Good design is honest Good design is durable Good design is consequent to the last detail Good design is concerned with the environment Good design is as little design as possible Braun celebrated fifty years of Design Innovation in 2005, and its products live its philosophy of innovation, quality and design. By Armeen Kapadia Add Comment Target's ClearRx 08/11/2009
 Target's ClearRx When Deborah Adler was a MFA student at SVA, she studied a variety of prescription bottles as part of her thesis project. She concluded that the round, amber bottle design was not user friendly. It didn't help users understand how to take their medication. She also concluded that the information is inconsistent across kinds of medicines. As a solution to the problem, she arrived at SafeRx. It all started when Adler's grandmother accidently swallowed pills meant for her grandfather. To avoid such scenarios in the future, she decided to design the bottle herself. She focused on label, color-coding and information. Target took keen interest in Adler's concept. In collaboration with Klaus Rosburg, a Target industrial designer, she took the concept to the shelves. The packaging design ClearRx is patented. The result was a more intuitive pill bottle and information system. The label is now easy to read. The information card is removable. The color-coded rings helps easy identification. The redesigned warning icons make sense. The system's primary goal is to clearly present important information to the patient. With Rosburg, she worked on the shape of the bottle. Adler originally worked on a bottle design that looked like a semi circle, but later it was rejected for the difficulties it presented in fitting a child-proof cap. Rosburg eventually designed an upside-down bottle that has two flat sides and rests upon its cap. Rosburg also helped Adler refine her color-coding concept aimed at making it easier for different family members to keep track of their medicines. The name of the drug appears prominently on the spine, and a card with information about side effects slips into a slot aimed at keeping it with the pills. Target is already manufacturing the bottles in its signature red. It is an irony, that in an industry where information is key, it was ignored until now. The ClearRx bottle was also a part of the MOMA SAFE exhibit. Hopefully there will be more such designs in the future. Do check this link, which kind of summarizes Target's design perspectives. By Sanjay Basavaraju Paper made from poop 08/10/2009
 Promotional products © poopoopaper.com We have heard of eco-friendly paper, recycled paper, paper made from waste fibres and the rest of it. Here is a paper, that’s literally made from waste material. The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company Limited is making paper, and some really nice gift items, all from elephant dung. Asian elephants are found in India, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and Borneo. Elephants are mostly domesticated, and very few remain in the wild now. In Sri Lanka, the elephant has been under threat in recent times, though it was revered in Buddhist tradition. Elephants are often killed and wounded when they come in contact with human habitation and destroy crops. An eco-friendly solution to this problem is the manufacture of paper and paper products from elephant dung. Farmers can now co-exist with the elephant, and have a mutually beneficial relationship with them. Elephant dung is in constant supply, and can easily be collected by the villagers. An elephant produces about 100 kgs of dung per day. An elephant eats coconut leaves, jackfruit leaves, palmyra leaves and other vegetation rich in fibre. Around 60% of this fibre leaves its body undigested. The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company collects naturally dried dung from national parks, and brings it to the paper-making factory. The dung is then rinsed with water, leaving only the fibrous material behind. The fibres are then boiled thoroughly to ensure that they are perfectly clean and smell-free. Colour can also be added at this stage. Natural fibres from banana trees and pineapples are added to strengthen the paper. The fibre is spread over a mesh, and left to dry in the sun for a few hours. And then your poo-poo paper is ready. Visit the Poo-tique to see the range of products the company makes. These make attractive and useful gift items. The company was started in 2002, and now has distributes products in many countries worldwide. Initially their products were expensive, but they worked to modify the production process, and today they have a great product line, with a positive ecologically responsible message. As the site says, they are products with a purpose. Such paper is also made in Thailand. An end product becomes a base of manufacturing for another product. The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company is ‘Number one at number two’. Do see the video below. By Armeen Kapadia Waste is beautiful 08/07/2009
 Millennium  Barnacle (Black), Harpon 321, Barnacle (White)  Tail Light Stuart Haygarth, is an obsessive and imaginative, one-time illustrator, 'designer-maker' who had to be featured here. Previously we have featured design here, but today we are taking one small leap to uncover the brain behind design. Hopefully we will be able to understand for ourselves what makes one create functional yet beautiful designs. For your information, I had doubts featuring his work here, until I saw one of the photographic pieces — Tide Mark — from an ongoing project Dungeness. He has been collecting man-made debris from the Dungeness coastline in Kent over many years. He sorts and categorizes these objects to create pieces of work. Tide Mark is a collection of primarily plastic objects categorized by color. His other one-off pieces include Harpon 321, Barnacle (White) and Barnacle (Black). The Harpon 321 is based on a particular make of fisherman's glove he found over years. The Barnacle pieces are based on collections of white and black plastic objects he found. The Barnacle pieces are inspired by WWII sea mines. Personally, I liked Tail Light. He was fascinated by the complexity and beauty of lenses covering vehicle lights. For sometime he has been creating lampshades out of spectacles, wine glasses and empty plastic containers. Tail Light is special because the level of opacity in the vehicle lenses reminds us of stained glass. Some of his famous pieces have been chandeliers. During the millennium celebrations (Jan 01, 2000) in London, he collected 1000 exploded party poppers. He create a one-off piece Millennium. Stuart can re-imagine waste into a striking design. Many argue that reusing is a short term solution to sustainability. Stuart's designs celebrate reusing forgotten ordinary objects. By Sanjay Basavaraju  Stuart's project Dungeness: Tide Mark The Footprint Chronicles 08/06/2009
 Mini-site: The Footprint Chronicles Patagonia is a California based clothing company that mostly makes outdoor clothing. It was founded in 1972 by Yvon Chouinard. Since its inception it has been considered a socially responsible company. Since 1985, Patagonia has donated $25 million to over 1000 organizations. It commits 1% of the total sales to the environment. Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. – Patagonia's Mission Statement Patagonia adheres to minimalist style. Its approach to product design is always simplicity and utility. Apart from focus on the design principles, it is also deeply concerned about the steep decline in the overall health of our planet. It is one of the few companies that is aware that it creates pollution as a by-product. It is working steadily to reduce those harmful impacts. As an employer it promotes Fair Labor and Environmental protection where its products are made. Its employees are paid fairly and enjoy good benefits. Patagonia only designs, tests, markets, and sells its products. It pays other factories to produce the fabrics and do the actual cutting and sewing. Factories to which it gives contracts for production are reviewed for both product quality and working conditions. It works with factories that get a positive review on the basis of product quality and working conditions. It has an active factory assessment program, since 1990, that keeps scorecards based on performance in different areas. It has an active third-party audit program, since 1994, that initiates discussions about change. There was a time when it lost track of who it was doing business with, and what working conditions were like in many of its factories. To resolve this problem, it has an active employee education program that focuses on factory workplace issues and work efficiency. It also trains its staff in social responsibility issues. In order to understand the social and environmental impacts of its supply chain, Patagonia has launched The Footprint Chronicles. Since Patagonia designs, develops and markets clothing, it has attained an environmental conscience. The Footprint Chronicles is an interactive mini-site that allows you to track the impact of its products from design through to delivery. The sheer transparent approach which they have adopted is heart-warming. They are aware that there is still no such thing as sustainable business and they are working towards it. If you select any of the products in the site, you can actually see the location trail on the globe. When you hover over every location, you can get information (photos and/or video clips) on what happens in every step of the process. For every product, you can see four mouse-overs — energy consumption, distance travelled, carbon dioxide emissions and waste generated. For example, if I select the Puckerware Shirt (Available in spring 2010), I can see that the fiber was acquired from Turkey, that is spun, woven and sewn in Thailand before it is shipped to Nevada in the US. If I want to know how far the Puckerware Shirt has traveled, it shows that, "Every Puckerware Shirt travels a total distance of 13,550 miles from origin as polymer raw material through garment delivery." The best part is it is equated to relative concepts such as this, "Every Puckerware Shirt travels the entire length of Nile river (4,132 miles) three times." Patagonia also is a co-founder of 1% for the planet. This is an alliance of businesses that, like Patagonia, commit at least 1% of their total sales to the environment. Patagonia bears the ultimate responsibility for the social and environmental cost of every product. Hoping many companies will emulate its efforts. If you have time then read these essays and the blog. Great day! By Sanjay Basavaraju Cycle folded 08/05/2009
 © www.eyetohand.com "I couldn't find a folding bicycle I liked. I wanted something that could take a bit of punishment and that you could have fun with. So I made one myself." That is the explanation that Dominic Hargreaves gives for his latest invention, the Contortionist, which seems to be the ultimate folding bicycle. Folding cycles are common in many countries, where people often take cycles on trains, or buses. Folding cycles make traveling easier, and encourage people to take their cycles out more. The Contortionist bike bends and folds to fit into the circumference of its 26-inch wheel with ease. After that, you just have to hold the pullout handlebar section, and roll it around behind you, unlike other folding cycles, which need to be carried. 24 year-old Hargreaves graduated from Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, and completed his post-graduation in the Design Products course at the Royal College of Art. He says "I wanted a bike for everything, one you could use in the city or off road without compromises, but would also fold up within the circumference of a wheel." The bicycle frame uses a set of pivots, and a lockable universal joint, in the front fork. Hargreaves has already won an award for his earlier bike related invention, a parking device by which cycles can be hoisted up in the house, or on a wall, out of the reach of thieves. Hargreaves thinks that the final production of the folding bike model shouldn’t cost more than $400, and three German car firms (names not yet disclosed), have already expressed interest in manufacturing the Contortionist. It is up for this year's James Dyson Award for innovation. Do see the video below to get an idea of how this amazingly flexible cycle folds into itself. By Armeen Kapadia The Braille Tyepwriter 08/04/2009
 The Next Generation Perkins/APH Mechanical Braille Writer Braille, an essential communication system, needs communication devices to make it more usable and accessible. One such device is the Next Generation Perkins/APH Mechanical Braille Writer, designed and developed by the Perkins School for the Blind and American Printing House for the Blind. In the end of the nineteenth century several different tactile reading and writing systems were in use. They depended on the slate and stylus, tools developed by Charles Barbier and Louis Braille. The slate and stylus allow for a quick and consistent method of embossing Braille writing. David Abraham, a wood-working teacher at the Perkins School for the Blind, first produced the original Perkins Brailler, a Braille typewriter, in 1951. It has since been used in over 170 countries worldwide. A Braille typewriter has six keys, each corresponding to one of the six dots of the Braille code. It also has a backspace, a space key, and a line space key. Prior to the invention of this typewriter, it was relatively difficult and cumbersome to write Braille. The Next Generation Perkins Brailler, developed in 2008, is more ergonomically designed, requiring less force to type. It is also smaller, lighter, and quieter. The redesign of the Brailler started with exhaustive international user research, among those who use and know the Brailler best. The product designers, along with engineers, questioned children, adults and teachers in the US, Malawi, South Africa and India, across all age groups. Through the research, they also gained other insights such as the need to erase a Braille error without scratching it out with your nail, or a wooden eraser. The ability to adjust the margins without reaching to the back of the machine was necessary. Users wanted to read what has just been brailled without supporting the page with one hand and reading with the other. It is more environmentally friendly, comes in fun colours, and is has tactile design elements. The Next Generation Perkins/APH Mechanical Braille Writer is one of the forty-seven silver award winning ideas at the IDEA awards. You can read more about it’s new features here. Do see the video below, which explains the redesign. By Armeen Kapadia Furniture once flew 08/03/2009
 Ejection chair  Partition  MotoArt searches boneyards for old plane parts to recycle into furniture. They use B-25 rudders for desks, and 747 jet engine cowlings for beds. MotoArt believes that it is preserving aviation history with functional art. The junk is looked at as marvelous engineering components from yesteryear that gives much joy, as well of a feeling of being a small part of aviation. Much of aviation scrap hits the smelter's furnace so that it can be recycled into metal that can be shipped to either India or China. Dave Hall and Donovan Fell started MotoArt in 2000 out of their garage to create high-end furniture out of old aircraft parts. They have designed a range of products from beds to chairs to desks to lamps, and to photo frames. They feel that they are giving these parts from historic planes a second life. What comes across through their work is sheer passion and belief. MotoArt is now a multi-million dollar business. It all began with an art exhibition where they showcased Fell's polished B-17 bomber propeller sculptures. By selling the whole show, they realized the potential in considering it a full-time job. As their grey cells began to work on this project full-time, they started experimenting with parts such as rudders, cowlings, seats, fuselage, nose and tail stabilizers. It takes 220 hours to turn a single 747 cowling into a chrome receptionist's desk. GE commissioned MotoArt to design and build a reception desk for their New Qatar facility. For this, they split the engine cowling into equal halves, doubling them up into an impressive 19 feet long reception desk. Boeing International commissioned MotoArt to design and fabricate a high-flying simulator as a marketing strategy to create interest in 787 Dreamliner. It debuted at Air France's 75th anniversary party in Paris and now tours globally. Inspiring stuff! Watch the YouTube video below. By Sanjay Basavaraju |   Every monthSeptember 2010 CategoriesAll |
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