RR04

Chapters 9 and 10 of Design: A Very Short Introduction talk a lot about deign in the business world. It is stated that not many designers work just for themselves, but rather for a larger employer or industry. This bigger owner has the power to call the shots with the direction they want their design for the company to go in. I especially found it interesting where Haskett mentioned that some companies prefer long-term design as opposed to short-term design. I personally appeal to long-term design because I think it has the most impact over the years. In the book, they mention Mercedes continually using the the same type of style car and same logo so that their brand and design remains timeless. Yet I could see the approach of a company like GM wanting to have several different short-term designs (Chevy, Buick, Cadillac) in order to appeal to consumers across the board with different model changes. In international companies such as McDonalds, it was interesting to learn that they use design when thinking about the delivery, preparation and environment of their franchises; not simply just the product. When you have a multibillion dollar world-wide company like McDonalds it is not a surprise that this is the only way to make sure their original design and creative approach to business sticks. The tenth chapter of Haskett's book goes on to talk about the future of design; which seems both exponentially opportunistic yet extremely uncertain. With some companies, such as Sony, entire strategic design groups are hired specifically to work on design and report back to the president of the company. Yet when thinking of the rest of the world, how will we ever know how advanced countries besides the US will be? Haskett mentions that China already has a firewall which enables its citizens to go to websites outside their governments limitations. Design in order to help third world countries has caught on as well. I thought the design by Angelo Garay and Andrea Humeres was complete genius and actually reminded me a lot of the coleman products we were designing in class. The packaging on the lightbulb they sent out to poor rural homes could be reused as a lampshade, where usually these homeowners did not even own shades of any kind. It is a big question over all where the future of design will go, but it seems that big companies here in the US are realizing the impact of design. Consumer sales increase when design is incorporated. As with other countries, design will always have an opportunity to flourish when discovering the more simplistic needs of the citizens in these countries.

J10

Design 200 has been quite the growing experience for me. I came in to this class thinking about pursuing a design minor, but was nervous as hell to get back into the creative world after being away from it for so long. Not only has this class been an easy transition for me, but it has opened my eyes to many more interests of mine that I never knew about before this class. I have rediscovered my genuine love for nature and sustainability. I have a new passion for environmental design. The day we learned about Biomimicry I was so interested that I still talk about to this day to my friends and family. Design 200 taught me to not be afraid. To speak up and share my ideas. It taught me that making a mistake is a positive experience and will only help to get you to your final product. I learned to never fear your original intuition. Most of all I learned that design is everywhere. Designers never stop designing and the world and our society is full of spaces and objects that are always seeking new designs. There were times in this course where I felt intimidated and slightly overwhelmed by the ideas and work of fellow students, but in turn I realized it only helped me grow. Having the opportunity to create my own blog posts and then browse my classmates helped the class have a much more open and comfortable environment. I especially enjoyed how throughout the quarter the class was pretty much an on your own type deal, but that we had to keep in touch with our card groups. I never felt alone, and knew I had three personal contacts in case I ever had a question or needed help. Ending the quarter with a project combining all of our efforts was the cherry on top. I feel ready for my next design course, and I am no longer afraid to pursue a minor in design. I am extremely grateful I decided to take Design 200 as my first actual design class here at Ohio State; it was relaxing, informative and taught me new foundations within the art world while giving me the opportunity to share ideas with my peers in the same boat as me.

CR05

In the last few days of class I had the opportunity to see the other groups presentation and I was simply amazed. Even though my team and I had been working hard for two weeks putting together a product for the Coleman home line, I had no idea what to expect from my other classmates. I was amazed! It seemed like everyone had come up with such different and innovative ideas. I think what I was most impressed with were the products that were very technologically advanced or were more fit for our electronic generation. The app for the ipod touch was an awesome idea and I loved the visuals, it looked like something I could easily download today. I thought it was a unique approach to the project because it seems like everyone has some sort of smart phone or hand held device that has apps and the fact that this app was from the Coleman brand and helped you save energy was so cool. I also loved the wireless device that hooked up to the curtains which used solar power to power the wireless outlet. That product involved so much sustainability yet still took into account the needs of today's generation (being wireless) and applied to something everyone needs in their day to day life. I especially liked that they made little mock-up  mini versions of the product so as a class we could have a hands on idea of what exactly they were imagining. The last project that really struck me was the oven-top party table. It was fun, functional and super sellable. The graphics that their group put together were so hi-tech and amazing it seemed like I could log online and buy the product today. Not only were their graphics awesome, but they explained all the technology behind how the oven would function and how it runs. It was very impressive to see how much thought and time they put into their product and made sure to not leave one point out. I also enjoyed how a few groups created a completely new logo for their new product, where some groups just recreated the old Coleman logo. I thought that was a great idea to show that this specific product could become so popular it could have its very own logo. Overall, I was shocked by the amount of teamwork and creativity that came together for the home goods line. Personally, I think Coleman would have been pretty impressed with our presentations.