The 11th Hour Reflection

The 11th hour is an informative and beautifully executed documentary illustrating the struggles humanity are facing in tackling global warming. The documentary covers areas including changing the philosophies of design, while focusing on the influence the upcoming generations will have on changing the ideologies of people around the world. This will be revolutionized by reprogramming the human psyche to change spending habits and redefine what producing environmentally sustainable products of desire are. 

When watching this film there were several insights given by the presenters that have made me think about the impact, not only my life, but the life of my family have on the environment. Thinking about how our future on earth will be shaped by our actions we take now; and how they will impact on the lifestyle we lead currently. What has become obvious are the initial thoughts people face when thinking about a sustainable future. They start with us thinking about sacrifice and giving up everyday luxuries in order to eradicate our impact. Instead what people should be thinking about is maintaining their lifestyles sustainably and efficiently. We are able to adapt to this new methodology by simply adopting a few simple household techniques to make our consumption minimal. 

Another part of the documentary which resonated with me is our unique ability to learn from the past to correct/direct us in the right direction for the future. Events in the past like the industrial revolution to our simplistic ways of life before the technological age can influence and inspire us to regain some of the qualities of life we had. When looking back to our pastural ways the land we used was our land. The owners of the land were responsible to maintain and continually cultivate it to be able to use it to its fullest potential; primarily to grow food and make a living. The interviewees on the documentary did not suggest that we move back to our agrarian ways, but to consider how we lived and replicate certain elements to make your impact resourceful, not greedy. 

There are many fears which scientists are acknowledging that should be making our actions accelerate. Yet, because of our political and cultural boundaries we are making excuses and avoiding the issue at hand. This should be looked at as an exciting time for designers. We are the generation that are able to look at everything; whether it be a simple stainless screw to the composite machines we use in medicine. We are able to redesign everything, create new materials and explore different solutions to our new problem. We are in the Sustainable Revolution.

By Mitchell Harris

Concepts for Bioinspired Storage

Bill Moggridge - What is design?

What is design? Bill Moggridge, a design consultant discusses in his 'What is design?' presentation at the Smithsonian Design Institute the principals and successes in design. He starts of his talk by making the statement that in order to accept successful designs, one must accept and discover the bad ones. This is supported through his examples where the users changed the appearance/purpose of the designs in order to make them work better. This leads on to Moggridge discussing the design process where he separates the process into two categories: understanding people and prototyping. Both these forms rely on the interaction the product has with the intended market. Moggridge shows the importance of these fields as detrimental to the success of a design overall. If the design is to be successful, the designer needs to understand the nature of the market and the people that they are designing for. Designing a product aimed for the aging market, then styling or marketing it to youth is an example of a designers lack of understanding both towards the design process and the people they are designing for. Prototyping is another great way designers can gain a greater understanding of their products impact on the market, looking both at the aesthetic implications and the functional attributes. As the product is intended to perform a purpose, the functionality of the design is important, this can gauged by producing movies, models, rough mock-ups and realistic 3D models. Some examples Moggridge presented involved intricate movies displaying the intended use of the product. This is used to gauge whether the product will perform its intended purpose, while also selling the idea the designer had to the respected individuals supporting/commissioning the designer. Some examples Bill Moggridge presented were introducing new uses for technology into the market. Some were futuristic in the concept and design, while others can be utilized in the current market. Overall, the presentation by Bill Moggridge showed the importance of the design process within context. The importance of prototyping and understanding the products intended market make or break the design and it's success. I believe his talks informed the audience how one can only judge good benign when bad design is mad obvious. This in turn allows the viewer to make an educated assertion about a design.

Blog Comments - Upcycle Lighting Project

Oskar Carabez 

Hey Oscar. I really like how you have pushed the use of paper strips to change the reflection of the light. By adding the the folds in the strips the light is taken from a 2D form into a 3D all-round experience. One suggestion with your assembly instructions, maybe raring your images in a more ergonomic way. We typically read from left to right, so maybe it would be easier to arrange your images in a similar manner. Otherwise i really like your idea. Great work. : )

Ghina Ali

Hey ghina!!! I loved your lamp!!!!! I loved how it used such simple techniques to create an intricate and interesting design. I loved how when the light was turned on the colours came through and took the light to another level. One suggestion with your instruction manuel, introduce some steps to allow people to easily assemble your great light. Great work Ghina!! : )

Doug Cusack

Doug, I love your light!! I like how your light brings natural elements into the home. The light is brought alive but the colour of the poster coming through when its lit up. I don't know whether this would be possible, but trying to control the darker shadows where the light bulb is could change the overall appearance of the design. Other than that very small suggestion, it is a great light and could easily be mass manufactured today. Good work. : )

Camille Kordek

Heyy Cam!!! I love your light!! I love how much effort you went into to find the right light bulb for your design. I love how resolved and complete your design looks; your time and effort come through greatly in your design. Finding a suggestion is hard. Maybe could you try to reduce the space between the upper rows to make the light fitting less visible? Then again the light fitting isn't a bad feature so its hard to make a valid suggestion! GREAT WORK!!! : )

Jackson Walker

Hey Jack!! I love your light!! It is highly sophisticated using confident lines and shadowing to make a great light. Your time spent in making this light, trying to get the measurements and pint point accuracy of your structure come through in the final design. One suggestion that I had to scour over your work to find was maybe taking the extra step to make the graphics on the underside of your light have some fluidity to it. A small suggestion on a GREAT light. : )

Product Poster - Upcycle Lighting Project

Instruction Manual - Upcycle Lighting Project

Cutting Diagram - Upcycle Lighting Project