Design  

The iconic American industrial designer, Niels Diffrient has passed away at the age of 84.  Diffrient will be remembered for his bringing ergonomics to the fore in design and for his famous Freedom Chair.

N iels Diffrient was a pioneer of ergonomic design -- taking the radical approach of examining the human body as it interacts with furniture, and asking, Is there a better way to sit?

The iconic American designer has passed away at the age of 84.

 Industrial Design  

Apple will soon be reporting its first profit drop in many years. According to Peter Cohan this outcome brings into clearer focus the biggest challenge facing Apple’s board: Is Tim Cook the person for the CEO job and if not, who would be better?  Cohan points his finger directly at Jonathan Ive.

In a interesting article Forbes contributor Peter Cohan, an author, former management consultant and former venture capitalist, has suggested that Apple's Tim Cook should step down to make way for Jonathan Ive.

"Now it's time," Cohan writes, "for Apple's board to put the person with design skill in the CEO job."

Ive's impact on Apple has been considerable since Steve Jobs returned to helm the company in 1997.  At that time, Jobs refocused the company to once again become a design-first leader in the industry.

With the iMac and the iPod to the iPad and iPhone, Jobs and Ive in tandem brought the company to soaring heights and the design to new levels of simplicity and ubiquity.

  Open Source Design  

Industrial designer Tom Dixon and Dassault Systèmes have teamed up to create the first open design competition based on a modular concept. Dixon will give participants access to the design files of new products, and challenge them to re-configure and remix into different functional objects.

Industrial designer Tom Dixon and Dassault Systèmes have teamed up to create the first open design competition based on a modular concept.

In a bold move, Dixon will give participants access to the design files of new products, and challenge them to re-configure and remix into different functional objects.

This new modular rapid manufacture concept leverages 3D printing technology to create junctions, which will then be combined and assembled with aluminum tubes to complete truss-like structures.

3D printing, which was previously limited to small parts, can now be used to create real life products - such as furnitures for instance. This concept will lead to unique and innovative objects.

Tom Dixon

"Disrupt being the theme of the MOST Salone 2013, this design hacking contest is a natural way to go! Thanks to online social 3D Experiences, anyone can be a designer today and express creativity," said Dixon.


The concept is also relying on the fact that the various parts and "joints", may be 3D printed to give life to the final creation. The contest will start on April, 8th and we will accept submissions until June, 30. The winner will be chosen by the jury on July, 31st. —

The winning entry, chosen by a jury including Tom Dixon, will receive an iPad, his concept 3D printed and assembled and featured at the Maison & Object trade show in Paris.


SOURCE  Disrupt Design

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 Color  

In this guest post, author Daniel Harris examines the fine techniques of color matching that are used in nearly every product manufactured today.  With plastic parts and metal parts requiring seamless design integration in final assembly, color matching is essential to industrial design and manufacturing.

W e’ve all thrown up our hands in frustration with a cry of “close enough!” Sometimes it really is close enough like when you substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream or just use duct tape when that last screw is missing.

But when it comes to production even the smallest mistake can potentially cost millions of dollars. Mistakes with color can easily happen, especially if parts are being manufactured in different plants. Everyone perceives color differently based on mood, age, health, and a host of other factors. When it comes to production, here are some of the biggest factors when it comes to choosing and matching color.

• Light Source: Light changes the most underneath different lighting which is too be expected since color is simply a reflection and absorption of light waves. Different lighting has different spectrums and materials will latterly reflect the changes by being a different color. Imagine you’re designing a sports jersey for a large college or professional football team. The fabric looks great in your studio, but underneath the halogen lights something is off. Products need be tested underneath an agreed upon light source for consistent results.  

• Different Materials: Car manufacturers deal with this all the time. The soft grey on the hard plastic dash needs to be the same soft grey as the plush faux leather seats, but the two materials reflect light differently. This means a different solution is needed for each material to get the same result.

• Different Surfaces: Even though you may have the same material, the material can have different surface textures and finishes. A rough texture will not look as bright as a smooth texture just like gloss will appear much brighter than matte.

E
 Film  

What do you get when you combine robotics, projection-mapped 3D computer graphics, and an actor all working together in perfect synchronization. It's a five-minute short film called "The Box" — and it is amazing.

What do you get when you combine robotics, projection-mapped 3D computer graphics, and an actor all working together in perfect synchronization. It's a five-minute short film called "The Box" — and it is amazing.

The short film was produced by San Francisco-based design and engineering firm Bot & Dolly.

The creators describe the film as being both an “artistic statement and technical demonstration”, one that explores “the synthesis of real and digital space through projection mapping on moving surfaces”.

The creative director for Box is Tarik Abdel-Gawad, who also worked on the upcoming film, Gravity, controlling robotics for the complicated special effects sequences of the film.

“Box” explores the synthesis of real and digital space through projection-mapping on moving surfaces. The short film documents a live performance, captured entirely in camera. Bot & Dolly produced this work to serve as both an artistic statement and technical demonstration. It is the culmination of multiple technologies, including large scale robotics, projection mapping, and software engineering. We believe this methodology has tremendous potential to radically transform theatrical presentations, and define new genres of expression.

To create this stunning effect, Bot & Dolly used an actor, two high-resolution projectors, two 2D monitors, and three industrial robots (one for the camera) that were synchronized and controlled by integrating their own software with Autodesk Maya.


What is more amazing is that this is a live performance captured in-camera.


SOURCE  Colossal

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