Quantcast
Channel: Core77
Viewing all 19065 articles
Browse latest View live

Thinking Outside the Socks: URU Design's Unusual, Sustainable Solution to Sock Waste

0
0

Every winter in New York City you'll spot lone gloves on the sidewalk or subway platform. That always makes me sad, as I know the person who lost it will undoubtedly throw the other one away. Single gloves aren't much good.

Socks are the same; once you've got a hole in one, the other is rendered useless. But Danish company URU Design has come up with an interesting way to get around this, and it involves selling socks in odd numbers:

Solosocks have been successfully Kickstarted, with USD $19,500 pledged on a $14,637 goal and 35 days left to pledge. A 7-pack runs $38, and URU Design reckons that seven of their socks will last a long as six pairs of regular socks, after you factor in the 2-for-1 waste rate of regular socks.

There's one thing I can't figure out, having no background in textiles. As you can see, the patterns of the sets only sort-of match:

Why on Earth would they do this? This is probably my industrial designer bias, but I feel that anytime you add differentiation to a line of mass-produced items, you are adding complexity, a greater chance of error and a potential sourcing headache. Would it not be more cost-effective to have all of the socks in a set be identical?

The only possible reason I can think of why they might make each slightly different is that if the socks wear and become faded at different rates, swapping in a replacement would not be as visually obvious, as they already don't quite match. Do you think that's it, or do the textile-savvy among you have a better explanation?



Hand Tool School #7: Does Your Workspace Inspire You?

0
0

I would estimate that I am doing 85-90% of my work with hand tools these days. Because of thist, I am constantly looking for better lighting so I can truly see my work. Lately, I haven't even been turning on my overhead fluorescent lights, instead favoring the incandescent work light right over the bench. I point the light at the white ceiling and work with only the reflected light. Sometimes, I'll turn the bulb right on the work for a spotlight effect. It is really amazing how little light you need to woodwork, and I can't help but think of my forefathers in the cabinet shops working in the waning light of day.

I can't really put my finger on it, but there is something very calming about working in a semi-dark shop. It feels more intimate, and that it would be wrong to make a lot of noise—like I might wake someone—so it seems that this low lighting actually lends itself to hand work, which is quieter than power tool work. The weather is currently too cold for me to open my garage door, and the two windows I do have shed some natural light on things but not quite enough; hence the incandescent task lights.

All of this preamble leads up to an experience from this weekend. I was working in my shop most of the day on my Wood Whisperer Guild build table with only this one light on over the bench. I continued to work until just before the sun went down when I took a break to walk the dog. That led to dinner, and a few other things in the house, so I was not able to get back down to the shop until it was fully dark outside. As I walked through the door into the shop, I was greeted by this sight:

Behold my shrine to hand tool woodworking! How can you not be inspired to produce your best work when confronted with this setting!

________________________________________________

This "Hand Tool School" series is provided courtesy of Shannon Rogers, a/k/a The Renaissance Woodworker. Rogers is founder of The Hand Tool School, which provides members with an online apprenticeship that teaches them how to use hand tools and to build furniture with traditional methods.


Hold Onto Your Seats—Nissan is Pursuing Self-Driving Furniture

0
0

When Nissan showed off their "self-parking office chair" earlier this year, it seemed it was a gag. But now the company is actively pursuing self-driving furniture, with an initial application so quirky it could only come from Japan.

Their ProPILOT Chair, as they call it, is intended to ease queue-waiting outside of restaurants:

Here's very similar footage, but with call-outs describing the technology the chairs are equipped with, and those technologies' link to actual automobiles:

It appears this is really happening: Nissan is taking applications for volunteer businesses in Japan, with a deadline of December 27th. Selected businesses will have the chairs provided for them free of charge, with the rollout to begin in 2017.


Design Job: Translate The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's Vibrant Mission into Reality as their Designer

0
0

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s award-winning design team is seeking an inspired and versatile designer to engage our audiences through visually rich and compelling visual graphics for the 3D environment, digital platforms, and print. This position is a member of a design team that plays an instrumental role in translating the vision of our expanded institution into a vibrant and cohesive brand.

View the full design job here

This Bike Lock Stinks!

0
0

According to the FBI more than 1.5 million bikes are stolen per year in the U.S. Some of those bikes weren't locked, but many were taken by thieves who cut the lock or cable with a hacksaw, bolt cutters, or the current favorite—a cordless grinder equipped with a cutoff wheel.

Inventors have come up with all sorts of devices to thwart bike theft: hidden GPS units, sirens that blast if someone tampers with the lock, and exploding devices that startle the thief and alert the owner. In spite of all the creativity lavished on these products, people continue to steal bikes because there is no lock that can't be defeated with readily available tools.

But what if cutting a lock was highly unpleasant? Perhaps not so unpleasant as the legally dubious practice of wiring a bike to shock thieves with 50,000 volts DC, but as unpleasant as being pepper sprayed or sprayed by a skunk?

That's the idea behind the SkunkLock, a U-lock with a hollow core that contains pressurized gas. Cut into it and the gas blasts out, creating a stench so noxious most thieves will vomit and flee without being able to complete the job. And the smell will stay with them, ruining their clothes and the gear they are wearing.

Depending on where the lock will be sold, it's filled with one of two kinds of gas—an indeterminate "food grade" gas called D_1 and, where legal, a compound containing capsaicin (pepper spray).

As with a skunk, whose distinctive black fur and white stripe alert predators to its ability to conduct chemical warfare, the SkunkLock has black and white stripes. Those stripes may not register the first time a thief encounters the lock, but if it works as designed, they won't try to cut one a second time.

The SkunkLock was developed by a San Francisco inventor and is being crowd-funded through an Indiegogo campaign. It's expected to come out in June 2017 and will have an MSRP of about $160.

Alternate Pumpkin Carving Method #2: With a Pressure Washer

0
0

The Finnish content creators known as the Dudesons got their hands on a pressure washer, then spent an afternoon using it to cut various types of groceries in half. We've cued the video up to go straight to the pumpkin-carving segment:


9 Storage Solutions for Wine

0
0

Everyone who keeps some wine on hand, whether it's just a few bottles or a full cellar, needs some way to stash those bottles. And I keep finding more interesting designs for meeting that need.

There's a lot to like about the modular Nook wine racks, which are sold in kits of various sizes. The racks are compact while still accommodating most bottle sizes—and they are very easy to assemble.

I have no aptitude for such things, but I watched the how-to-assemble video and knew I could handle this one. There are only two components, and they fit together in an obvious way—the only tool I would need is a rubber mallet.

Because the racks are modular, they can be installed in all sorts of places. Nook recommends that configurations over four feet tall (or any that are in reach of small children) be attached to the wall—they sell "saddles" for this. One restriction: The racks need to sit on a flat, hard surface, not carpeting or uneven floors. However, that's going to be true for most wine racks.

The Engage wine rack from Snapp Design is a modular rack that's even simpler to put together, as each of the individual pods has embedded magnets.

While components can be placed at 90-degree angles, it's usually going to be more practical to stack them all in the same direction. One concern: It doesn't look as though this rack will hold Champagne-size bottles.

The Ameba bottle rack from 21st Livingart, designed by CrousCalogero, is yet another modular solution. It's made from rotational molding plastic.

A single container holds two bottles, and with its integrated handle, it can serve as a carrier, too. It could also sit at the table with ice inside to keep some wine chilled.

But the racks can also be combined to create quite extensive storage. There's supposedly an optional bracket for use with multiple units, but I haven't seen any photos showing it. With no obvious way to attach it to the wall, a configuration like this would make me nervous in earthquake territory.

The Otto wine rack from Delica, designed by Ramírez i Carrillo, has a certain degree of modularity, but nothing like the previous designs. While these racks can certainly be stacked, they seem most appropriate for an end user who wants an attractive way to store and display six to 12 bottles and who doesn't need a space-efficient design for that limited collection. (Yet again, this may not be the rack for someone with larger bottles, such as those used for Champagne.)

The Marcel wine storage cone from Sebastian Bergne was machined from a solid block of Portuguese limestone. A design like this would need to be made from a material heavy enough to prevent tipping problems if the bottles weren't well balanced, because end users won't always be that careful about bottle placement.

This wall-mounted wine rack from Distressed Design can be mounted horizontally, vertically or at an angle—a very helpful feature for end users who are likely to move or who simply like to redecorate. Many wall-mounted wine racks are intended to hold bottles horizontally, and the bottles seldom stay nice and flat. With this design, the bottles are never in a horizontal position, avoiding the possible frustration of having them out of alignment. 

Crate and Barrel's Big Sur standing wine rack cradles 30 bottles. This piece will take less floor space than many other freestanding wine racks. However, since it's 81.5 inches tall, short people may find it a bit difficult to reach the top notches.

It's made of solid wood and has a steel base, so it's not going to tip over easily, but there's an attachment plate provided, too. 

The Vino wine rack from Slide Art, made from plywood, comes in a flat pack and assembles easily with zero tools. That's going to appeal to end users who move frequently and those of us who cringe at Ikea assembly instructions. There are 12-bottle and 20-bottle versions, and the rack looks as though it will accommodate many bottle sizes.

The Arbol bottle rack from Elite To Be is another freestanding design that requires minimal floor space. The base is either iron or wood. A couple considerations, which apply to the wall-mounted wall rack, too: Storing the wines at this angle means that any sediment will gravitate to the necks of the bottles, and any bottles that are no longer properly sealed might leak. 

Easily Dispense Rope During Critical Moments with TRD

0
0

TRD was created by a US special ops paratrooper to have usable tangle free cord exactly when needed. In a true emergency or survival situation, there isn’t time to untangle cord. TRD delivers high strength cord when you need it most and it’s built in cutting blade eliminates the need for additional tools.

View the full content here

Alternate Pumpkin Carving Method #3: With 60,000 PSI Waterjet

0
0

The folks over at the Waterjet Channel turn their 60,000 PSI waterjet cutter onto jack o' lantern carving duty. They've got the cut time down to just 30 seconds:

Well, not counting the set-up and CAD time that's hands-down the fastest, though I wish they'd gone with a more intricate design.


What do Golf Greens and Snow Mobiles Have in Common? Ask Nike. Plus: An Unexpected Market Needs Footwear Designers Now

0
0

PGA TOUR season is approaching, and you know what that means—new golf swag. This year's line-up includes Nike's new Lunar Control Vapor shoes, which will be worn by Rory Mcllroy at the HSBC Champions event.

Nike Lunar Control Vapors. Image via PGA TOUR

The shoes feature a traction system that was first seen in Nike's Flyknit Elite golf shoe and is inspired by the traction system found on snow mobiles. Mcllroy was highly involved in the shoes' testing process and, of course, has nothing but praise for them—they do look really cool.

Image via PGA TOUR

What strikes me as the most interesting discussion points around the Lunar Control Vapors is their soles' lack of replaceable spikes and material choice. Instead of the traditional metal spikes found on golf shoes, Nike decided to switch things up and go with a molded plastic variety attached to the shoe's body, similar to soccer cleats. A reader comment found on PGA TOUR's article about the new kicks perfectly sums up my main concern with this design:

How durable is the sole? Spikes are replaceable when they wear. I don't get free footwear, so I would have to replace a spike-less shoe every few months (based on passed experience). It is much better for me to buy a quality, standard golf shoe and use it for years.
2013 Nike Lunar Control golf shoes. Image via Flickr

What may seem to be a subtle design change for some, is not so much the case for golfers. Golf shoes were originally meant to have years of use in them because of their replaceable spikes and premium materials. 

The difference between replaceable spikes and attached ones is simple—replaceable ones allow you keep your shoes for years, assuming they're durable, whereas attached spikes force you to purchase new shoes every time your spikes wear out. 

This brings me to the overarching question: Is the Lunar Control Vapors' plastic design playing into the built-to-break model that's becoming a fashion industry norm? They could be. However, if if these shoes do end up being durable, Nike could have found a solution to the previous practice of replacing spikes every few years, which would theoretically save golfers some extra time and money.

Do you think molded plastic spikes instead of replaceable metal ones were a smart design decision on Nike's part? If you want to find out for yourself, the swanky shoes will be available through the Nike+ App on November 22.

In other footwear news...

Orthopedic shoes

It looks like footwear is the next design industry to turn their focus towards health. Research and Markets recently announced that there's a high demand for diabetic shoes in North America. By high, they mean the market was valued at $112 million in 2015 and is set to rise over the next four years or so. This is very bad news for the health of American and Canadian citizens, but what a great job opportunity!

Aspiring footwear designers take note: you might want to put all fantasies aside and pursue a career in the less glamorous side of the industry. It's a great time to jump on this (sadly) expanding market. Get in while it's hot, though—the need for diabetic footwear is set to rise and then start declining around 2021.

Need a place to practice/learn footwear design skills? New Balance and Pensole have partnered for Pensole's next Master Class—get designing. 

A Brief History of the Haunted House and The Original Intelligent Traffic Control System...From the 1920s

0
0

Core77's editors spend time combing through the news so you don't have to. Here's a weekly roundup of our favorite stories from the World Wide Web.

The Man Who Invented Intelligent Traffic Control a Century Too Early

Today I'm reading about Charles Adler, a visionary inventor who started developing automotive safety devices in the 1920s. Among other things, he came up with this electromagnetic apparatus that could be installed at dangerous curves; when a car drove past it, the magnets would trip a speed governor inside the car and automatically slow it down. This dude was basically inventing smart roads and smart cars almost 100 freaking years ago.

—Rain Noe, senior editor

A Brief History of the Haunted House

The "Hatbox Ghost" is one of the most beloved attractions in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. Image via Smithsonian.com

I was driving through my grandparents' small town in Maryland over the weekend and noticed that every few houses or so would have a bright orange sign that read "Spooky Halloween House." This got me thinking—what do rural towns do for Halloween when most people live on farms and their small town is...small? It looks like some places are keeping early 20th century traditions alive by letting people bounce from haunted house to haunted house—I'm into it. Now I'm wondering how this would go over in a bigger city.

—Emily Engle, editorial assistant

A Different Kind of Horror Story

For those of you who are already fans, I'm happy to report that season 3 of the apocalyptic tech-centric series Black Mirror launched last Friday on Netflix. For those of you who have never seen it, Halloween weekend is the perfect time to catch up on all of it and scare yourself with a kind of horror that is all too real.

— Allison Fonder, community manager

Apple's New Touch Bar for the MacBook Pro: Incremental, and Welcome, Design Innovation

0
0

From 2001 to about 2010 we were spoiled with revolutionary Apple products: The iPod, the iPhone, the iPad. All were category-busters, game-changers. In the years since, nothing (in my opinion) as impactful has emerged from Cupertino.

But, as their product line-up matures, it's nice to see they've still got some design juice. It seems that for the foreseeable future it will be incremental improvements to existing categories, rather than Holy-Shit-I-Need-That moments, and I'm okay with that.

A good case in point is Apple's new Touch Bar, announced for their updated MacBook Pros. For those of you that haven't seen it yet, take a look:

It sounded kooky to me at first, but after seeing it in action, its value became obvious. I wouldn't wait outside overnight and trample you in the morning to get one of these, but I can instantly think of ways I'd use it. I like that you can customize it via drag-and-drop, and I'd love to use it to scroll through an Adobe Premiere timeline. In both Photoshop and Microsoft Word, I can think of at least a half-dozen commands I'd like up there.

The larger trackpad seems nice too, though I'd need to test it out in person; I'm worried about false-positive hand-heel hits while I'm typing.

In any case, do you think my earlier assessment is correct, about it being incremental change rather than game-changers from here on out from Apple? Their long-term car project was recently scuttled, or at least gutted; that notwithstanding, do you think Apple's got more revolutionary stuff up their sleeve?


An Architect Tackles the Barbie Dream House; a DIY Multi-Axis-Adjustable Drill Press Table; Shooting Boards & More

0
0

Building a Barbie Dream House

Who's the toughest client an architect can face? For Frank Howarth, probably his little girl. After she rejects his design for a modular Barbie Dream House, he goes back to the drawing board and builds her a version more in line with her design vision:

Multi-Axis-Adjustable Drill Press Table

Izzy Swan fabricates an impressive drill press bed that can be adjusted, via handcrank, on two axes. He also hints at why he built such an unusual piece of kit: He's cooking something up that presumably could not be made without this particular table rig. Can't wait to see what that is!

DPT Wrench Invention Now Market-Ready

This might be the first product invention we've watched unfold on YouTube. Izzy Swan's nifty invention, the Drill-Powered Through Wrench, was designed for folks who work with all-thread rods. He's shown us various iterations in his weekly vids, and now it's ready for market:

Big Bandsaw Build, Part 1

Matthias Wandel goes MacGyver this week, harvesting the cheap plywood from a shipping crate and turning it into the wheels for a 20" bandsaw. He needs to true and balance the wheels, then fashions the belt from a bicycle inner tube. As always, there's a lot of great problem-solving on display:

Why You Should Make a Shooting Board

Here Jay Bates shows you how and why to make a shooting board, assuming you own a handplane of any sort. (As a shooting board user, I have to say this is one of my favorite things to use in my own shop.)

Building a Scrap Wood Burn Pit

April Wilkerson's got a new toy—a plasma cutter—and puts it to work building a burn pit for her larger wood cut-offs:

Combining Public Policy and Design through STEAM: RISD + Maharam Fellowship

0
0

Commonly thought of as exclusive to legislative work and developing written laws, public policy is an often unnamed aspect of design thinking. Public policy must be responsive, investigate practices and be solution oriented. But what does it have to do with STEAM? STEAM is the product of incorporating arts and design into the federal STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) program. Based on the idea that breakthrough innovation, economic viability and societal development is dependent on long term governmental support of arts and design through comprehensive education and research, STEAM embraces the notion of right-brain innovation helping the United States remain a leader in innovation throughout the 21st century.

In support of this idea, the family based company and textile producer Maharam has developed programs as educational STEAM resources. One of Maharam's collaborations is with the Rhode Island School of Design. The prestigious RISD Maharam STEAM Fellowship offers up to $5,000 to accepted students who have designed summer internship experiences with an organization (excluding for-profit companies) in which designers are not usually found. In addition to funding the experience, the Fellowship provides students unparalleled professional experiences outside of the exclusively art and design scope academically offered by RISD. In what may have been the last year of funding, the work of 2016's Maharam Fellowship Recipients is particularly unique and distinguished.

Read on for particularly STEAM(y) Q&As with three of this year's recipients:

Evan Daniel (MFA 2017 | Digital Media) on his work with Dynamic Robotics Lab, Oregon State University

Can you tell me a little bit about the work you've done with Dynamic Robotics Lab?

This summer, I was an artist working alongside roboticists. My approach was more that of an artist in residence than an intern: my goal was to bring the environment of the lab and my own practice into dialogue. I was free to float between different research groups, which was immeasurably helpful in understanding the broader scope of the conceptual and technical frameworks being used. 

Concurrently, I was looking for opportunities to bring my own practice into this discourse. Frequently I address memory through my own memorization of p, which I can recall (mostly accurately) to ten thousand digits. After completing a number of experiments using Robot Operating System (ROS) with various simulators and controllers, I developed a project in which I used the recitation of p as a control system for a PR2 robot. The goal was to maintain a constant level of entropy between my recitation and the robot's movements.

What drew you to Dynamic Robotics Lab?

When I was first speaking with the directors of the lab, it was clear that they really valued conceptual rigor within their own research. What's more is that they were looking for discourse with traditionally differentiated fields. Those approaches made interacting with the lab really exciting and edifying. It was thrilling to speak with some individuals who are immersed in the philosophical tensions inherent in robotics and also some who are more fascinated by technical problems like deep learning. From my perspective, it was important to fully engage with both.

Another reason I was particularly interested in the lab was ROS. ROS is an open source series of frameworks used to program robots. The lab is highly active in the ROS community, and uses it for most of their research. While microcontrollers like Arduino are increasingly popular and can be very efficacious, ROS's ability to interact with complex robotic systems offers an exciting alternative approach. ROS is more of a discrete complex object as opposed to a swarm mentality. Helping to make ROS more widely known (and therefore accessible) was also a major reason to work with the lab.

How does your work as a Digital Media student inform the work you've done through your fellowship?

Digital Media as a program emphasizes conceptual rigor through research and experimentation. Digital media artists (including those using robotics and physical computing) are frequently producing work about the foundations of technology, and the inherent connections to science and technology make for a truly rich theoretical background. Digital Media discourse is informed not only by art theory, but by the history and philosophy of science, Science and Technology Studies, and epistemology. This meant that I could approach my experience as related to sociologists such as Bruno Latour and Andrew Pickering, or see my work in relation to contemporary research on Human-Robot Interaction.

Digital media artists always need to be ready to seek out new languages. This is both because the languages are constantly changing and because they must be ready to broaden their practice and push it in new directions. Being ready to dive into a complex new language like ROS in a rigorous way was something that Digital Media prepared me for.

So it's safe to say you feel RISD prepared you for this experience?

Heading into a highly specialized and technically demanding environment like a robotics lab is an experience that requires all your faculties. Fortunately, RISD has a fantastic way of preparing you to use everything you've got to work as hard as you can. Studying at RISD prepared me not only to dive in and pursue a rigorous technical understanding of a new problem, but also to be mindful of conceptual differences and open to how they might interact with my own practice.

What are some highlights from your time with Dynamics Robotics Lab this summer? 

Each working environment has its own technological style, and getting to acclimate myself to the culture of the lab was really edifying. The range of tools and languages roboticists are built around and express their own approach to their work. This also goes for knowing what type of work they do and how they do it! There's absolutely no better way to find out what's possible than experiencing it firsthand, and getting to see it in action was really tremendous.

What was your takeaway of the experience? 

I ended this summer not only with new technical skills, but a better conceptual understanding of the culture of robotics and of the nature of Human-Robot Interaction. The problem of understanding what robots can and should do—and how to make them do it—is incredibly complex. Being immersed in an environment that is totally dedicated to such questions truly broadened my own practice and understanding.

Chris Cohoon (MA 2016 | Art Education) on his work with Cadence International/ US Marine Corps Installations Pacific Command

Can you tell me a little bit about the work you've done with Cadence International and the US Marines?

Though the Maharam Fellowship, I had the great privilege of traveling to Okinawa, Japan, to develop a leadership program based on design. I had a class of US Marines and Airmen and a class of high school students which met weekly to research, design and build a stand up paddle board from locally sourced materials. A human-centered design approach lends itself well to leadership development. An emphasis is placed on empathy, which is crucial to leadership but not always recognized. Other leadership characteristics, such as the ability to collaborate, critical thinking, and creative problem solving also flow easily from design. I really enjoy leading project-based learning because it incorporates multiple learning styles and provides a lot of time for life conversations to occur. Some of the greatest lessons are caught from these discussions as students share what is going on in their lives and we, as a class, are able to relate those issues back to what we're learning.

What drew you to the US Marines and Cadence International?

I had previously worked with Cadence. When I read Maharam's desire to place artists and designers in places not typically populated by creatives, the Marine Corps immediately came to mind. They are well known for discipline, esprit de corps, and uniformity—but not so much for creativity and free thinking. The former traits are necessary for efficiency in such a large organization and non-conformity can be detrimental in extreme situations, such as combat. I believe, however, that the lack of creative permission within military culture comes at the cost of empathy and innovation. Okinawa is a prime example of strained relations between the host community and the military personnel. Many of the young Marines, in particular, are consumed by the military culture. Work isn't just a 9-5, it's 24/7—most of your friends are people from your unit. They are so involved in their professional world that the world outside the base gate is less of a priority, almost a lesser reality at times, than the reality of their mission. Getting to know their neighbors and merchants, or understanding their impact on other people isn't an immediate concern. Art and design have the ability to restore the humanity in one's neighbor. Creative problem solving provides the potential to innovate and even to complete the mission more efficiently.

How does your work as a Art Education student inform the work you've done through your fellowship?

I was in the Teaching + Learning in Art + Design department at RISD. My Art + Design Education major really helped me to formalize the structure of the program. My thesis researched the role of mentoring in art and design community development organizations. I was able to look at an array of education philosophies to see how they are effectively being utilized, essentially to raise up leaders in struggling communities. The mentoring structure I utilized for the classes came largely from my research and from RISD exemplars. On the first day of class, I informed the students that I have never built a paddle board and am certainly no expert. Design and leadership, however, are best practiced as collaborative learning experiments. We each bring something to the studio to contribute. I was there to facilitate the class and offer advice on materials and making, but the design was collective. In the end, I could see each person's individual fingerprints in the designs, which was a gratifying experience.

In what ways do you feel your time at RISD prepared you for this experience? 

A year before applying to RISD, I spent three months in Kathmandu, Nepal, developing a jewelry making and education program for a social enterprise. At the end of my time there, I realized that my fine arts skills were the tools I used most in order to be successful. It was then that I realized art could be valuable for building community in new ways. RISD prepared me in a couple of key ways toward this point in my development. It helped me to formalize the creative problem-solving structure of fine art by translating it into design principles and practice. My time at RISD also showed me that I wasn't alone. Working with Dr. Sproll through Project Open Door, as well as with my cohort, broadened my imagination of the ways art and design enrich communities and honed my teaching and mentoring skills.

What are some highlights from your time developing the program this summer?

I can't express adequately how beautiful Okinawa is, how rich the culture is, or how beautiful their people are. I would be remiss in not talking about them. As far as the program goes, however, teachers love eureka moments. There were a couple of moments when the lights turned on. One serendipitous moment came when the high school students were testing scale prototypes of their board shapes in a tidal pool on the beach. They had several great designs, but none were behaving in the water like they had hoped. As they pushed the boards around, weighted with water bottles, a smaller board became lodged under a much larger one. Someone, for curiosity's sake, lined the smaller one up along the bottom of the larger one and gave it a shove. There was a collective hush and then a burst of excitement as everyone realized that it was doing what we had all been searching for. Everyone ran back to the studio and drew up the design for the final product.

Another moment was with a young marine who didn't care for sergeants. We were researching who our target customers would be if we were working as or for a paddle board company. He returned with a handful of surveys from his peers. I asked why he didn't survey anyone of higher rank, and he replied that he doesn't like them. We looked at the data he had collected to realize that his peers don't have a large enough income to buy our boards, but that sergeants might make a great target group. As we talked about the importance of empathizing with those above you, he realized it was because the sergeants seemingly don't empathize with jr. enlisted marines that causes his grief. He also admitted that he knows very little about them or the job that they are responsible for. What's more, he was dumbstruck at the realization that, should he have a successful career, he would be one of those sergeants in just a couple of years. The discussion then led beyond work to encourage him to expand his world beyond work and outside of the fence.

How do you feel the research, design and manufacturing of paddle boards translates to leadership skills that can be applied throughout varying, diverse communities?

My research through the fellowship has allowed me to begin work on creating a curriculum for design as leadership and community development. It also allowed me to experience some of the hurdles that come with introducing creative concepts within a culture that is ambivalent, or even hostile towards them. I found that the marines, though just a year older than the high school students, were far more reticent to engage in brain storming and wild, imaginative thinking. I realized that they needed to feel that they had permission in order to think differently. Once that permission of release was established, they began to come up with great ideas. Having finished the program, I am convinced more than ever that art and design can be used effectively in various communities. Even if all that it does is give people the permission to think differently, a kernel of hope can be planted for innovation, creative problem solving and eventual sustainability.

Callie Clayton (BFA 2017 | Textiles) on her work with GenSpace

What drew you to GenSpace?

My interest in GenSpace really developed about two years ago. I had been doing a lot of research about biomaterials and biofilaments through textiles and a lot of research about artists using living organisms or making ethical statements and discovered GenSpace is very important for this realm. Long story short, I first ended up volunteering for them in October of 2015 and became further interested in understanding how GenSpace functioned as a nonprofit and its place in this evolving space for genetically modified products and the lack of regulation of such in the U.S. So, I did some individual research and wasn't really finding much content that spoke specifically to community biolabs. I was thinking GenSpace was the perfect place to see what role community biolabs have in facilitating a more broad understanding of ethical limitations and possibilities of genetic modification.

It's hard to find an unbiased opinion or information source about genetic modification. The US doesn't have a specific government department responsible for regulating biosafety level I or II facilities, which makes sense really. GenSpace became the first community biolab founded in the US in 2010, and most community biolabs are level I. For a biosafety level I lab, you don't really need that type of in-depth government safety regulation because you're not working with any pathogen corgensens. But the thing is, you technically could transform a nonpathogenic bacteria or ecoli strain to have pathogenic characteristics. So the capability is there, but these spaces are incredibly innocuous. Still, there is a lot of leeway for product development in terms of being crowdfunded. An example of this is a grow-your-own glow-in-the dark-plant project that was crowdfunded and came into awareness of the Department of Health much later than would be expected, which was concerning. The Wilson Center of Policy does a lot of nonpartisan policy research on proposed ways for product development, specifically genetically modified product development, and how the process should be carried out. But, their research is all documents and nothing is really put into effect. So, in going to GenSpace I found out that it is really just like a makerspace, and I developed an understanding that the policy aspect is incredibly interesting, yet fully speculative and rarely put into effect.

Can you tell me a bit about the work you've done with Genspace?

So, coming to GenSpace I was initially interested in public engagement and looking at who was, and why people were, coming to the space and getting my own understanding of patterns of public engagement. I started out by observing their classes and participating in their introduction to biotech class and just being a part of their community. Just being there over time, I was able to understand not just the scientific work they do, but what this space needs from a designer's viewpoint. It really informed me how our education at RISD and education as artists necessitates understandings of scientific processes that could insight artists to make political statements. I realized just how innocuous some of these processes are. While observing and helping with their IGEM (International Genetic Engineering Machine competition) team, I realized that they really seemed to be lacking content for visual learners. It seemed during classes that people were somewhat able to process what they were learning, but were not able to repeat or reiterate it or really apply it. So I began doing drawings for the lab protocols. I was doing a lot of research and understanding what visuals teachers were using in that space and thinking how can I make a hieroglyphic-esque key of visual images that relate to each machine and each process?

How does your work as a textile major inform the work you've done through your fellowship?

RISD prepared me well in terms of observational skills. Observation was really key. What drew me to this space was thinking about patterns and visualizing structures and where GenSpace and other community biolabs fit in the narrative of public development and public access. From growing algae in different pH levels to apply to a crystal lamp structure or thinking about how to get an ecoli bacteria to produce a different output to produce natural pigment for dye—both projects members were working on there— I was able to observe and understand what patterns of regulation do or do not exist. We traditionally define textiles as something very static and physical, when print and pattern, which play an integral role in textiles education, should be more reactive and has a lot of room for content. I found my understanding of textiles to be easily translatable to infographics, which is another side interest I incorporated this past summer.

How did the rest of your RISD education prepare you for this experience?

In addition to the knowledge I've gained from my involvement with RISD and Brown's STEAM, Nature Culture Sustainability Studies concentration classes, especially the liberal classes, really helped to prepare me. Some of the classes, particularly my Eco Poetry class, really opened my eyes to the idea of translation and potential for modes of communication. From that I became interested in translation and the reference of the ethical, which is always defined by current cultural understandings.

   

It sounds like you learned so much in such a short amount of time, any highlights you'd like to share?

Through my work at GenSpace, I learned the importance of an immersive approach through spending ample time understanding the space and culture and becoming a part of that. Additionally, I learned the logistics of working with people in a makerspace post graduate and how to navigate working with people who are there for varying reasons. For some, coming to GenSpace was a hobby, but for others, some parts are not a hobby. It was a worthwhile experience in understanding how I will go about working in similar spaces after RISD.

To learn more about each Maharam Fellow's journey, check out their blog.

Affordable Dust Collection, a Hand Tool Workbench, a Clever Wire Organizer& More

0
0

Log Bench with Hidden Storage

In contrast to his carefully-planned projects like the arcade machine, here Bob Clagett takes a chunk of wood imparted to him by his departed grandfather and improvises it into a functional piece of furniture:

On Wood Expansion And Contraction

The Samurai Carpenter runs down everything you need to know about wood expansion/contraction, and the importance of moisture meters:

Hairpin Leg Slab Table w/ Drop Drawer

Linn from Darbin Orvar takes a gorgeous slab of spalted maple, some pre-fab hairpin legs and makes a side table with a drawer. She also shows us how initial designs do not always work out and institutes a fix:

Laura´s Wire Organizer

This is a great blend of design and craftsmanship. Here Laura Kampf devises a handsome, functional wire organizer for her soldering station:

Hand Tool Workbench Questions

Here Shannon Rogers goes over the features of his workhorse piece of shop furniture, the Roubo workbench. Hand tool users will find it informative; you power tool users, who typically have higher benches better suited to routers, may find it an interesting curiosity.

Affordable Dust Collection for the Home Workshop

Steve Ramsey shows you how you can get and build effective dust collection for your small shop without spending a fortune:



Delightfully Creepy Design Projects Just in Time for Halloween

0
0

To kick off your spooky weekend, the Coroflot Blog team has dug up some of their favorite Halloween-inspired projects for your viewing enjoyment. Try not to get too creeped out by the lifelike cakes, skeleton design experiments and artful Satanic homages.

Swamp Golem by Alexandr Malex

This list combines everything we love about Coroflot and its ability to bring a variety of creatives together to appreciate work from all over the world, from the creepy to the cute to the downright mind-blowing. Coroflot describes their new blog platform as the "place where we put words behind our endless enthusiasm for design, job tips, insight, and snapshots of The Creative World At Work,™" and that's exactly what it is. 

Cake and Chocolate by Katherine Dey

Featuring weekly staff project picks, tips and tricks for navigating in the workplace and profiles of creative minds you should know about, the blog is a well-packaged roundup of everything Coroflot has to offer. 

Check out the whole list here.

A Solar Powered Socket... For The Window

0
0

We're now a little closer to plugging our devices directly into the sun, thanks to a fun student project that showed at the Dubai Design Week Global Grad Show exhibition. 

Kyuho Song and Boa Oh, graduate students from the Samsung Art and Design Institute in Seoul, brightened a lot of people's day with the functioning prototype of Window Socket, a window mounting outlet. 

The socket adheres to the glass with a suction ring, and the palm sized solar panels charge the plug's integrated battery. It can be plugged into while mounted in the window or charged up and used later. As Kyuho Song told Business Insider, the current Window Socket prototype holds about 1,000 mAh, takes five to eight hours to fully charge, and can offer up to 10 hours of power. That's about enough to run a 60-watt light for ~20 hours, but not enough to re-juice cellphones quite yet… an iPhone needs almost triple that, and they keep getting hungrier! 

Even with the prototype's limitations, the Window Socket would already be a great addition to locations without easy electricity or enough outlets. I can imagine multiple places I'd want to park one permanently, like a garage window, in a car, or on a boat. 

The team hopes to continue increasing battery capacity in the next iteration—with this kind of success under their belts, the chances look good.

Spooky Popsicle Molds Fit for a Halloween Snack

0
0

Designers love companies that love design. And Tovolo LOVES design—from the top down. So A2 and Tovolo blissfully stroll through the world of product development, hand in hand, whispering sweet-nothings and growing their family of awesome stuff—including popsicle, ice cube and ice tray molds.

View the full content here

Tom Dixon Launches New Office Line of Furniture and Products

0
0

"A more domestic, more human aesthetic," says Tom Dixon, "is fast becoming the required backdrop for the newly blurred distinctions between work, home and entertainment spaces." To that end, Dixon has designed a new line of office furniture and products. But while the word "office" may conjure up images of staid Staples catalog staples, Dixon has instead created "versatile, hardwearing and functional objects for work that are attractive enough to be used in domestic and decorative situations.

Dixon's solid wood (oak or birch) SLAB School Desk was inspired by what pupils of yore sat at, and here the inkwell has cheekily been replaced with a hole for cables.

The SLAB line also includes a larger desk and tables going up to conference-sized.

On the lighting front, the BOOM lamp is a chunky, substantial, Machine-Age-looking task light made from aluminum.

The objects I'm most drawn to are his CUBE ALLOY line of desk accessories. Not just for their looks, but for the philosophy behind them:

The paperless office was an interesting dream, as was the idea that everything would move online and life would be lived through the screen—but we know that people still cherish an analogue life—the papers, the pens, the keys and physical objects that continue to give us manual satisfaction.
These solid cast zinc alloy desk accessories have a reassuringly solid, minimal and indestructible presence that give a sense of authority and permanence to any work situation, and will live on way beyond the lifetime of your latest electronic fripperies and gadgets.


A Strange Tool for Splitting Bamboo

0
0

It was at Hida Tool and Hardware in Berkeley, Calif that I encountered this strange looking cast iron tool from Japan. Turns out it is used to hand-split bamboo.

What the splitter offers—that simple blades and froes do not—is the ability to split a culm (the woody stem of bamboo) into equal width pieces. This one splits the material into sixths, though models are available for different numbers of pieces.

Slightly less old-school: using a hand splitter to make equal width pieces

The tool is started by hammering it into the end of a culm and then using the handles to pull it through—splitting the piece from end-to-end. This kind of hand tool is fine for the craft-worker who needs to split a small number of pieces, but for greater volume it's necessary to mechanize.

Large scale producers of bamboo products split or saw culms on powered machines. Splitting is faster, and because there's no kerf, results in less waste. Once split, the pieces can be woven into baskets, fencing, and other items. Or they can be glue-laminated into large panels that can then be cut into boards, beams, and flooring.

Old-school adapted to the machine age

What's interesting about the machines is they use "dies" similar to the ones used to split material by hand. It's the same as splitting by hand, but faster and easier because a motor-driven ram pushes the bamboo through, supplying the muscle that would otherwise be provided by the user's arms.

Viewing all 19065 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images