Blog designophile
By Michael DiTullo - June 5, 2011
Automobiles are one of the most difficult objects to represent two dimentionally, yet they frequently fill the doodle-verse of many a designer. Perhaps their elusive complexity compels us to try to draw them onto the page. Or, maybe it is their emotional relevance, the way many people overlay their own personality onto vehicles, that begs designers to capture their essence on the page. Whatever the attraction, Adam Hubers, a designer at Chrysler and Matt Marrocco, an industrial designer and frequent core77 discussion forum poster, have been developing a book to help us to better understand how to translate these objects of desire onto the page. Contents include global automotive brands, global design schools, global auto show dates and locations, reference materials in both print and web format, commonly used proportions and packages, and 100+ pages of templates to practice with.
Check out the book's site and pre-order >>> HERE
Support them on Kickstarter >>> HERE
Blog designophile
By Michael DiTullo - November 28, 2010
There is a simple paradox I've noticed in product design; the objects with the most direct functions have a greater amount of accepted options in the marketplace. Two excellent examples of this are the chair and the watch. It would be difficult to think of two simpler functions and you would be hard pressed to find products with more choice in form, execution, and price.
In the 1970s, the simple calculator was one such item, as ubiquitous as they were varied. Vintage Technology has 128 examples on display with detailed specs and reviews. Worth it just for fantastic names like The Adman 830 and the Intercord Electronic 101! Some of my faves are above, but be sure to check out the full selection here.
Blog designophile
By Michael DiTullo - November 28, 2010
The Art Center Summer Show is typically a nice way to get the pulse on what upcoming, West Coast, American designers are doing. One project that struck me in particular, and prompted a healthy respose on thecore77 discussion forums, is Daniel Yorba's Cycletron One electric moped. It immediately reminded me of the very different BEND conceptby RISD graduates Erik Askin, Eric Peloquin, and Brian Mitchell. I love how the results of these two projects so perfectly reflect the different approaches of the East Coast RISD and West Coast Art Center. Both get to a relevant solution, and both also show the value of a high fidelity full scale model in the design process. Our digital tools are powerful, but there is still no substitute for seeing something in physical space to see if it is truly lust worthy.
Check out Daniel's and Erik's portfolio sites to see more on each project.
Blog designophile
By Michael DiTullo - November 28, 2010
Donald Norman concludes his recent piece for core77 by saying "But beware: We must not lose the wonderful, delightful components of design. The artistic side of design is critical: to provides [sic] objects, interactions and services that delight as well as inform, that are joyful. Designers do need to know more about science and engineering, but without becoming scientists or engineers. We must not lose the special talents of designers to make our lives more pleasurable." What he might not realize is that we are already losing that creative bent. Our desire to speak the languages of marketing, engineering, and rigorous research have left us neglecting our native tongue, design.
I argue that many young men and women are magnetically pulled toward physical (industrial) design because they have a creative passion to reshape the things around them. We live in an age of magnificent and wonderfully magical experiences. Physical design has a talismanic relationship to those experiences and must fulfill the promise or run the risk of seeming anemic.
We must remember that design is not an academic act and this reminded me of three artists at the polar opposite of much of design thought leadership, but who did much to influence physical design: Umberto Boccioni, Constantin Brancusi, and Isamu Noguchi.
Blog designophile
By Michael DiTullo - November 18, 2010
Helmrinderknecht, a contemporary design gallery in Berlin, has a new show of furniture up curated by Sophie Lovell. All of the pieces incorporate unusual uses of everyday materials in fascinating ways.
Blog designophile
By Michael DiTullo - November 16, 2010
Cleverly defying my post from a few weeks ago about teaching students to collaborate in a multi-disciplinary way but have a deep mono-disciplianry skill set, Julius Tarng is wrapping up one of the most brilliant student projects I have ever seen.
Blog designophile
By Michael DiTullo - November 15, 2010
The New York City Taxi, The San Francisco Trolly, The Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile.... every 60 years or so one of these iconic pieces of transportation is up for a re-design. This year it was time for the Routmaster, the archetypal red double-decker bus that cruises through London with amazing agility.
Blog designophile
By Michael DiTullo - November 14, 2010
Those of you that know me even casually know I savor a fine set of vintage concept sketches the way a sommelier might a rare bottle of Chateau Lafitte. So you can imagine my excitement when a co-worker at frog sent me this set of concept sketches from Atari, 1981 vintage.
Blog designophile
By Michael DiTullo - November 14, 2010
Kristina and I have always taken design excursions to meccas like the Philip Johnson Glass House , The Walter Gropius House, and Palm Springs. This weekend we took a long overdue trip outside of San Francisco to Marin County. We started our day at Frank Lloyd Wright's Marin County Civic Center. This 1957 masterpiece was almost demolished in the 1970s. It went on to be featured in such classic films as Lucas's THX 1138 and Gattaca. You can still grab lunch in the cafe on week days, and docent tours are offered on Wednesdays.
Next we popped up to Terra Linda Valley to sample some Eichler Homes. Marin County has the largest concentration of Eichler's. None are open to the public, but frequently there are some great examples for sale, and they have open houses on Sunday. Don't worry, they are used to design gawkers. Check out Marin Modern for listings.
