Treauring Time

Art Nouveau Peacock Design Tool

The art style Árt Nouveau' was organic, feminine , and free flowing without restriction of lines or space. In today's world I find that designers sometimes get lost in the need to deliever beautiful organic design, because of a growingly fast and technological world.

The tool aims to help designers stimulate ideas based on organic form from Beard Beasley's painting 'Peacock Skirt''. In this way the interactive tool, featuring a light feature based on artifucal or natural light, whereby the user can edit there own curves and form through rotation and trace these. Each template also slides up from the top of the stand, and thus the sleepers become handles to easily manourve the templates on a flat surface.

Transparent perspex was used to create a dreamy effect, as the art nouveau style was seen as coming from a fantasy world. The pale colours, also add a modern touch to the tool to attract a wider target market. More so, the feature when not in use is an instresting scultural form.

A mirror in the form of a womens face as seen in the 'Peacock shirt' painting was used as a device to reflect the colours and form from all angles, thus the notion of treasuring time looks the user into the face. More so, feminity was seen as a striving force in the period.

Bad Design

Context: Birkenhead Point



Sensor Bathroom Tap

Problem
As an employee working at Birkenhead Point, it is commonplace to find frustrated and confused women and mothers with small children unable to turn; what should be a simple functional bathroom sink ‘on’. Therefore making what should be a quick consumer encounter in visiting public toilets into a dreaded and sometimes humiliating experience.

The designer’s focus on designing a modern, slick and environmentally friendly sink, involving the removal of taps to increase hygiene and reduce wastage, has lead to the misjudgement of the basic functional necessities people relate and interact with when using bathroom sinks. Human error as made evident in the pictorial exhibition, is thus inevitable. The introduction of a sensory system, misleading the consumer by a large black hole centrally located in the sink, does not turn the tap on. It is in fact two small dots unseen to the human eye, below the head of the tap that acts as the sensory device.

• Human Error 1
  After noticing the absence of taps, the consumer immediately puts their hand underneath the head of the water tap. No water flows.
  


• Human Error 2
  The consumer directed to a large black hole at the front of the sink, places their finger inside. It’s hollow, and the tap doesn’t turn on.
  
  
• Human Error 3
  After the failure of pushing the black hole, the consumer, in response to confusion quickly swipes over the hole at a comfortable distance, underneath the head of the sink. No response.
  
  
• Human Error 4
  In frantic frustration, the consumer begins to hold and touch the sides and head of the tap, in search of a sensory motion on the tap itself.
  

At last….
Two small dots placed at the bottom of the tap, blinded to the human eye, towering directly over the head, lay a sensory device.


Improvement
I propose three concepts to significantly decrease human error, while also maintaining a modern and environmental sink to create a pleasant consumer experience while visiting public bathrooms.

The sensory device will be constructed of silicone rubber making it aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly. The consumer will immediately connect to the symbol of the tap templates and can either swipe or tap the circles to activate the sensor.

The moveable tap allows a mother to move the tap lower for a child to wash their hands or position it upright to even fill up a drink bottle. A tap that many consumers can immediately relate to in bathroom design.

The feminine organic basin and surface communicates to the consumer immediately to place their hands inside the basin, to wash their hands. The massaging sink head, significantly adds a pleasurable experience for women, while washing their hands. Instead of white the colour of the front surface could compliment the colour of the basin, to create liveable objects within the bathroom.

Video Reflection 6

Designing Dream Machines

Leading British designers Richmond Semore and Dick Powel provide an interesting insight into the design process behind industrial design. Specifically focusing on the ‘X- factor’ of design, these designers attempt to transform everyday objects into desirable machines.

The precision and passion of the concept development behind the new ‘Batam’ motorcycle design in particular is admirable. Pantone markers, pens and tracing designs, is key to show the development of the design, and also allows the designers to continually improve and take control of the form of the design.
Today, young industrial designers increasing look to CAD and Rhino modelling to generate quick concept ideas. However, I strongly believe concept ideas should firstly be realised and explored on paper in order to generate a wide variety of ideas, with standing the limitations of the software. It is with this principle designers can begin to create an X-factor in product design.

The first step into any design process is brainstorming, as made evident in the video. The thoughtful collaboration of engineers and industrial designers, generated an advanced kettle and food processor with matching power charged bases, ahead of its time. The kitchen appliances immediately became an object of desire as it featured a funky colour scheme, organic form and function that stood out from other white traditional products. The easy to clean and access food processor bowl satisfies the target market needs, while the kettle acts as a liveable object, engaging a unique human experience in the kitchen.

The success of this product communicates that it is important for designers to be confident in designing products with hindsight. Thus in doing so, challenging traditional methods of form, function and materials. I believe this principle is of the essence in order to survive in a growingly competitive market today.