J08

I chose to research Design & the Environment.  Taking the environment into consideration when designing products is very important because we don't have unlimited resources and the products we use have an impact on the world around us.  For a long time people designed and consumed as if they could do so forever without any negative side effects, but we have realized that this is not true.  Everything we use comes from somewhere and after we use it, it has to go somewhere.  So designing with the environment in mind helps to decrease the amount of materials that need to be newly introduced into each product and considers where the product will end up after its intended use.  It also tries to decrease the amount of harmful materials the consumer, workers, and environment are exposed to.

1) http://www.epa.gov/dfe/
This website, Design for the Environment, is a partnership with the EPA that has information for consumers and producers about environmentally friendly products and how to find them.  The DfE logo is a guarantee that the chemicals in the product have been approved as safe for the environment and the consumer.  There is also information on this website about global climate change and why designing for the environment is important.

2) http://www.dceplanning.com/
Design, Community, & Environment is an organization designed to organize communities around the idea of trying to "work in concert with the natural environment." They work with government agencies, urban planners, and landscape architecture.  Their website is intended to connect designers with clients who are looking for environmental solutions to their community's needs.

3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNudnI5tzf
This youtube video shows the effect of sustainable energy on a local community.  The use of a wind turbine for alternative energy is an example of how design can work with the environment rather than against it and still serve the community.  A new design for the wind turbines also allows for versatility in placement, making them easy to add to a more urban setting as well as in rural areas.

4) http://www.wbdg.org/design/sustainable.php
The Whole Building Design Guide offers codes and resources for builders, as well as an overview of sustainable building practices.  The guide also emphasizes the importance of decreasing the environmental impact of buildings by pointing out the energy use, waste production, and CO2 emissions of all the buildings in the USA.  

5) http://www.lanl.gov/environment/risk/p2_sd.shtml
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a lab working on sustainable solutions to the problems of environmental management, pollution prevention, and risk reduction.  The website offers links to carbon footprint calculators, hot topics in the environment, and public involvement opportunities.  The website has descriptions of previous environmental projects done by the lab and lots of information about environmental threats and what can be done to reduce them.

CR04

In the past few classes we've been working on our Coleman for the Home projects.  I've found this very interesting because it allowed everyone to look at the whole process from designing a product to marketing/packaging and designing a kiosk to appeal to the consumer.  I think this really reflects how an actual businesses would go about this process (except they would be meeting a lot more frequently).  But I liked the work and if I ended up in a career in business I think I could be pretty happy.  I designed the logo for our Coleman for the Home project and I really liked doing that too, which could work with design and marketing if I wanted to do something like that for a career.  Basically I learned a lot from this project over the past few classes and I really enjoyed everything my group worked on.

J07

Lindsay    http://design200lm.blogspot.com/
Lindsay found the letter F in her letterform search and for some reason that really surprised me.  I realized that I could have used the same object I used for H to make F if I took the picture at a different angle, but it had never occurred to me to do that.  Im not really sure why the letter F wasn't as obvious to me as other letters were; this is really interesting me for some reason. Lindsay also found some really good trade show pictures, her IKEA picture actually gave me some ideas for how to organize our potential booth.

Erica   http://design200spring.blogspot.com/

I liked Erica's letterform entry.  She had some letters found in common items that I had never noticed before, like how an iPod earbud looks like a P.  It really does but I hadn't thought of it before I saw her picture.  She also looked up some of the same companies as I did for the online scavenger hunt which I thought was kinda funny.  We both looked up North Face, IKEA, Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn so I guess those are all fairly successful brands because they're what people think of what they think outdoor and indoor home goods. 


Jonathan    http://design200.wordpress.com/
Jonathan had some really cool links on his blog- not surprising.  The one about the "paper computer" was so cool! If phones could get that on their screens instead of the glass they currently use, I wouldn't have to worry about shattering my screen if I were to drop my phone.  The fact that we could also eventually have phones and computers that are super thin and flexible is crazy! Jonathan's scavenger hunt pictures were really good too, his trade show picture of the window display will be useful when designing our window blinds and shades display.  

RR03

I've really enjoyed reading Cradle to Cradle so far.  The other day I sat outside and read it, and even though I was hot and sweaty I didn't have to worry about messing up the book because it is waterproof!  I think the way the authors present the information is interesting and holds your attention a lot better than Design: A Very Short Introduction did.  I actually keep thinking about some of what I've read, like when I was using my blow-drier and started thinking about all the chemicals it was probably pumping into the air that I was then breathing.  Pretty disturbing stuff.  But I also thought the history behind how the industrial revolution occurred and shaped our current system was interesting, even if it made me a little angry.  I really agree with the message the authors are trying to get across in the book about how we need to start producing products that are sustainable in every way and that don't include any aspects that can indirectly harm the consumers.

J06

5 Outdoor Retailers:
http://www.coleman.com/
http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/index.html
http://www.walrusgear.com/
http://www.patagonia.com/us/home
http://www.mountainhardwear.com/

5 Indoor Home Goods Manufacturers:

http://www.acehardware.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=2626064

http://www.lehmans.com/

http://www.ikea.com/

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/

http://www.potterybarn.com/

   

Indoor Home Goods: Items used in the home to create a comfortable and inviting atmosphere and to made every day living more convenient. 

  

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CR03

I really liked the video we watched about copyright laws and Girl Talk.  Parts of it definitely got me annoyed, like how Disney stole the ideas for all of his movies from old stories but then copyrighted them so no one else could do the same.  Or how songs like Happy Birthday aren't even public domain yet, I think that's ridiculous.  But I did think the movie was very relevant to design because copyrights are something all designers need to be aware of to make sure they're not going to get sued for their work.  I also thought the group of former students who came in and talked to the class were helpful.  Hearing their stories about picking majors and switching departments and now finally having jobs in the design field made me feel better about still not knowing what I want to do with my life.

RR02

In "Design: A Very Short Introduction", the ideas of Identity and Systems are discussed.  In the identity chapter, the influence of cultural identities on a business's identity were shown and how some businesses are forced to adjust their identities to be marketable in other cultures, while others have an easier time adapting.  But either way the idea that identities are always evolving was a key theme to the chapter.

Systems was defined as "a group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements that forms, or can be considered to form, a collective entity."  So systems are the big picture combination of different products produced by designers that are put together by other designers to create efficient and organized systems for us to use in everyday life.  Ex: mass transportation systems in cities or road signs.  These need to be easy to use and understand, and have consistent application so their use becomes second nature.  Ex: If road signs weren't consistently used, they wouldn't be as effective as they are.

The introduction to Cradle to Cradle was very interesting.  It really addressed a lot of things I'm passionate about and in the beginning when it listed off all the problems with the products in the house I was getting really angry because I think about these things a lot.  It has always frustrated me that there are almost no items out there that are "guilt-free". For a while I only bought clothes from thrift stores and tried to only eat organic and not buy anything made in a sweat-shop country.  But that took so much effort and really didn't make much of an impact.  I like how instead of suggesting "going without" as I have always done, the authors suggest changes that would allow people to still consume but in a different way that isn't bad for the environment.  I hope this idea catches on and more "guilt-free" items become available.  I think I'm really going to like this book.

J05: Peer Dialog

Erica L: http://design200spring.blogspot.com/


I always enjoy reading Erica's blog because she tends to make connections to her engineering classes and shows how the design process is one that is applicable to many other areas of study.  I thought it was interesting that her engineering class had watched the "Deep Dive", proving how much the two departments really are related.   I also agreed with her blog about the environmentally friendly products, that was my favorite class too.  I have always been passionate about finding ways to get people clean water, so the Life Saver Bottle was something I found very exciting.


Jonathan: http://design200.wordpress.com/


Jonathan's blog still impresses me with its creativity.  He has links on it to other projects he's been working on and by going through everything you can definitely learn about what he is interested in.  He had his letterform post up and the pictures he found were really good. Even without having any of the letters listed under the pictures, I was able to tell which letters almost all of the pictures were representing.  


Lindsay: http://design200lm.blogspot.com/


I really liked some of Lindsay's found faces, especially the last one of binoculars at Niagara Falls.  I also noticed how detailed all of her posts were.  She does a really good job of including a lot of information in her posts and really explaining what she thinking.  In her CR02 she mentioned something that I found very true, she said that she liked how we walked around campus to see the buildings and learn about OSU's architectural history rather than just sit in a class and talk about it.  I think the hands-on qualities of this class are making the information seem much more relevant to our lives rather than just a lecture about history and buildings.