Design discourse often strikes me as analogous to a family get together. It sets out well enough; optimistic with an undercurrent of reconciliation, but it can turn sour. A casual remark or offhanded comment cuts quick, unearthing volumes of unresolved conflict and lingering baggage. It can be disquieting and, at times, maddening. But generally speaking, it's okay because after dessert is served and the plates are cleared, we get to leave the family table, and return to the business of doing design.

When I leave the 'table' my thoughts turn quickly toward incorporation: How do I filter through the chatter and weave the good stuff into a viable practice of design; one that bridges the here and now with a hopefully grand tomorrow? Where do we place our bets? Where do we invest? How do we incorporate the disparate soundings offered up by design into a practical set of tools that can empower a team's results, elevate its relevance, and if we're lucky, safeguard its future?

With this in mind, I'd like to share some thoughts that have kept me occupied lately. Consider them field notes; observations culled from the murky intersection of 'practice' and 'theory.' I invite the Core community to have at them. Tear them down or build on them -- but please comment as you see fit:

Designer and artist Michael Stolworthy puts the "industrial" in industrial design, and when it comes to being a multicreative, he's got one of the more interesting backgrounds we've seen:

[Stolworthy] has studied advanced organic modeling techniques, dynamically driven surfaces, 3-d animation, media arts, arboriculture & horticultural science. He interned with a stereolithography lab catering to the medical industry that specializes in growing 3-d models of human skeletal structures with rapid prototyping technology for pre-surgical diagnosis.

Stolworthy's also got a Bachelor of Science degree and a certificate in "Ornamental Horticulture." It is the only explanation for the beautiful steel objects he produces, ranging from flatware to speakers to bar furniture to retail systems. Hit the jump to see larger shots, or check him out here.

We've highlighted the Damsels of Design before, that group of nine female designers hired by Harley Earl, GM's Design Veep, starting in the '40s and running into the '50s. But there's a new article up--commissioned by a Michigan-based Chevrolet dealership, of all things--providing more information on the women, all of whom were trained in ID and seven of whom were Pratt graduates. As the article reveals, Earl gave them free reign to engage in actual design, not just the frilly chick stuff your average 1950s male would consign them to:

The women started by designing color, texture and trim of interior fabrics shaping seats, door handles, armrests and steering wheels but soon were given the opportunity to take on more ambitious projects. Some of these more complicated design features included such items as a removable cosmetic case, a dictating machine that swung out from the glove compartment, plush floor carpeting, a removable transistor radio, custom leather straps in the trunk to keep groceries secure and a pre-cell era telephone.

Some of the more bold suggestions the team came up included a series of four slip covers to match the colors of the seasons, a three piece set of fiberglass luggage to complement the cars upholstery, toys magnetized to the back of the front seat to keep the kids entertained and a compartment for picnic supplies including a thermos to correspond to the cars color scheme.

Unsurprisingly, chauvinism won out in the end: Earl's successor axed all of them, citing some rather misogynistic principles. A shame, but at least from 1943 to 1959, nine women got to design some truly innovative concepts that would have improved the automobile, had the powers that be taken a better look.

Miles of style

Cavalier Essentials is a line of vintage men's products described thusly: "If Steve McQueen carried a beat-up leather duffle bag on the back of his motorcycle, what would be in it and how would the products look?"

The resultant campaign, masterminded by art director Taylor Pemberton and shot by Collin Hughes, is pretty drool-worthy:

(Only one I don't get is the compass. Steve like drawing circles a lot?)

See more here.

India Carpenter

The Aram Gallery in London is well-known as a forum for the exposition of experimental and emerging design. Daniel Charny has been instrumental in bringing fresh, new work to the gallery, he recently stepped down from his position of curator and handed over the role to Ellie Parke.

Parke's first show, 6 Hands, features the work of Peter Marigold, India Carpenter and Ella Robinson and takes a close look at their processes and intentions. The focus of the collection is to bring to the viewers attention not only to the parallels but also the idiosyncrasies that exist within each designers material practice.

6 Hands runs until the 19th of February and can be found in the top floor gallery above the Aram Store in Covent Garden.

>> See more images from the show after the jump.

This video can be tough to get through because it sounds like it was recorded in a bus depot, but it's interesting in that HP executive Randall Martin breaks down their design process. Unsurprisingly they've gone with the focus-group-based design approach rather than Apple's Henry-Ford-faster-horse methodology, but it's a step in the right direction, and I'm still tickled when I hear PC manufacturers say the words "industrial design" with something like respect in their tone.

The object in question is HP's new Touchsmart desktop, which seeks to get around the arm fatigue problem by providing a variable-position surface. In the demo they finally get around to showing the physical object around 4:40:

via venture beat

Senior Designer - Concept & Innovation
Reebok
Boston Area, MA

Reebok International is seeking two Designers for our Concept and Innovation team.

This is a new, small, dynamic, cross-functional team that is tasked to help Reebok in its mission to "Challenge and Lead though Creativity". The team is a problem-solving hub that works to identify innovation opportunities within the business and facilitate bringing these ideas to life. We think about strategy as much as product; innovative products are great, innovative thinking is even better.

» view

The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.

If I were Mayor of New York City I'd order all manholes be left uncovered, purely to weed out people who heedlessly walk the streets while staring into their cell phones. Mobile Facebook updates would be suddenly interrupted by sharp introductions to gravity, with only a doppler-effected scream to mark the event.

Perhaps the problem will increase now that at least one manufacturer will be providing users twice as much to stare at, and maybe cause copycats to follow suit: Yesterday Kyocera officially announced their upcoming Echo phone with two screens.

"Being able to compose an email while having Google Maps open or even having two browser windows open at the same time can literally change the way you work," wrote Boy Genius Report in their review. "...It changes the way we think about a smartphone in a lot of areas.... We can totally see it changing the direction of a mobile device's utility." Presumably the change in direction they envision is not a vertical drop, but I can still dream.

Gestalten released Staging Space a compilation of the 'scenic interiors and spatial experiences' late last year. It's quite a thorough volume, covering a broad cross-section of categories, split into many sections including office spaces, exhibition design, scenographic environments and spatial explorations.

Chapters begin with a short forward, putting the work in context in a general sense, and each following entry is left open to the readers interpretation with a short, easily digestible description.

Michael Johansson

Sinato Campaign

Raw Edges

It's a very enjoyable format, the details make it very easy to find more, in-depth information online or from other sources, leaving the bulk of the pages as a rich visual source book. I imagine that a visual merchandiser, or anyone who seeks to convey meaning through environment will find this book a really useful resource.

Nelly Ben Hayoun

Here are a couple of stunning entries from Italy's Solar Park South design competition, which sought environmentally-friendly proposals that could be integrated into the Salerno-Reggio Calabria highway.

The winning entry (from the French quartet of Philippe Rizzotti, Vermet Tanguy, Manal Rachdi, and Samuel Nageotte) proposed a "vertical village" built into one of the highway's bridge structures in a volcanically active area. Geothermal power would provide juice for inhabitants, and the verticality of the structures would provide a good use of what's normally dead space occupied by pilings. Large horizontal decks would provide both public space and a means of capturing rainwater.

We're heading out to Boulder, CO this week for the Interaction 11 Conference, hosted by our friends at the IxDA. We're long-time supporters of this conference and look forward to it each year. This year we're proud to be hosting Coroflot Connects, a whirlwind night of shmoozing, recruiting and networking. Joining us in the search for interaction/UX talent will be:

• Backcountry.com
• CNN.com
• Leo Burnett
• Meebo
• Pitney Bowes
• Research In Motion
• Sterling Rice Group
• VML
• Wall St. on Demand
• Wolf Creative
• Ziba Design

If you're seeking your next career move check out the opportunities on that list above. Stay tuned for updates from the conference as things kick off on Thursday. And if you're one of the lucky ones who will be there this week make sure to stop by and say hi on Friday night!

The latest product design debate to catch my attention over on the Core boards was started last year and has been reinvigorated as of this morning. It's entitled "A Lovely Bit of Plagiarism," started by user Holtag. First, check out this Alienware gaming PC:

Next, take a look at this power washer:

For shame!

Reading through the opinions shows that some readers are bothered; some aren't bothered at all; some come out in defense of the power washer's design; still others sound off with depressing tales that might be familiar to some of you, like ones about the "clients who take a Nokia phone out of their pockets and say, make my stud finder...look like this."

What do you think, is this a design crime or a sign o' the times?

RKS Design teamed up with Discus Dental to launch a new product to aid dental assistants while repairing and filling teeth -- combining a universal composite material with a simple but effective delivery system. RKS' improvements on this system include tactile and audible feedback recording the amounts of material being dispensed. The syringe also has a screw mechanism and fully integrated measurement system accomplishing extrusion with about half the force needed for other composites. The syringe itself is designed to rest naturally and stand on its end for easy access for the technician. In addition to accessibility, the syringe has an attached flip-top to protect the composite material from polymerization in ambient light, bacterial and particle contamination.

Regular readers of this blog know I'm obsessed with the idea of one person's garbage becoming another's raw material, particularly when there's a minimum of processing involved. One fascinating example of this phenomenon is designer Emiliano Godoy's "Snowjob" chair, which is skinned in candy wrappers. (Not used ones, but misprints and obsolete ones.)

One point Godoy raises -- which sheds some light on the name of the chair -- is that these wrappers all have recycling symbols on them, yet he claims that the material...

...although technically recyclable, is never recycled, not even in its virgin, post-industrial state. One label on the back is folded in such a way that the recycling logo that appears on each candy wrapping is visible, speaking about the fact that the cover is made from recycled materials, but also about the misdirecting impression that this logo makes on the final consumer, who might think that candy wrappers are actually recycled when in fact none of them is.

I do wish Godoy would back this claim up with some links or evidence. This is not to cast doubt on his statements, but rather because I'd be very interested in reading up on why these things are not recycled, how they are able to get away with it, and what other materials claim recyclability but never see re-use.

We're pleased to bring this sponsored announcement from advertising partners at HYVE, a leading crowdsourcing platform.

Make Design Stick and win 5,000 Euros (Apprx. $6,700 USD)

Henkel, a world-class manufacturer of adhesive products, presents an international packaging design contest seeking the best systems and ideas whose designs allow them to do more than simply protect their goods during transport. Do you have what it takes to win? The best entries should facilitate the product's use, draw attention to the product being packaged, and innovate other intelligent options. Throughout the contest phase, Henkel packaging experts will participate using the contest platform, allowing for an interactive exchange of expertise. Winning designs will be rewarded with total prize money of 5,000 Euros. Deadline for entry is March 18th, 2011. Enter today!

Small city cars are a constant fascination of designers. Perhaps it's the challenge of creating a desirable car with a very limited budget. Or, perhaps it's our constant search for something a little different. In any case, this summer has seen two of the most significant small car releases in years. These are the VW Up and the Aston Martin Cygnet. One represents maximising a limited sales price, the other one tests just how much customers will pay for a pint size car.

VW Up

The VW Up is based on a 2008 concept car of the same name. The concept featured a rear engine, just like the original VW Beetle. The design also looked back, but not quite so far. The design is a welcome return to the restrained, proportion- and detail-driven VW designs of the late 1990s (Passat & Golf in particular).

The production of the VW Up was converted to a conventional front engine, front wheel drive layout. Luckily, the crisp styling remained, albeit modified. It features ultra-short overhangs in spite of only increasing demands of safety on cars. Unique features include an all-glass rear hatch, which beautifully integrates with the rear lights. Also, the front bumper appears to float inside the wide grille, a wonderful graphic touch.

Oregon Manifest Brainstorm

This is the fifth post in a 6-part series from Ziba's Industrial Design Director, Paul Backett, on rethinking design education. Read the Introduction to the series, Teach Less, Integrate More here.

Designers in the real world almost never work alone, but students frequently do. One of the great failings of modern design schools is how rarely they expect students to work in groups or with external partners, and how little attention they give to the mechanics of teamwork. Just as much as sketching and modelmaking, design students must learn to share their own ideas and build on the ideas of others; to produce and receive constructive criticism from their peers.

The most successful projects I have worked on professionally came from a collective rather than individual vision. Realizing that vision isn't always fun and games though. Great ideas come from passion and tension, sometimes even arguments. Students need to be objective, to put their personal feelings aside, to not take criticism personally and work for the greater good of the team. These skills can be learned in school, but it's far more common for students to work independently, under a culture of competition or even coddling.

Students need a sense of humbleness and openness to outside ideas, and there's still no better way to develop it than tough, exacting critique. Leela Morimoto of University of Oregon's ID program gives a mid-term presentation.

My professors were tough. They took no crap off their students and called us out when we hadn't put in full effort—sometimes dramatically. Based on my interaction with students from dozens of design programs over the past decade, I'm not sure this happens enough these days. An element of cockiness is natural for designers, but it's up to professors to hand every student enough humbling experiences that they develop respect for the ideas and work of others. It's the same in the professional world: we have to be open and honest in our evaluation of ideas. The more exposure students get to this type of discussion, the better.

Back in 2008, the product development branch of the Perkins School for the Blind did a redesign of the Perkins Brailler. The Brailler is a braille typewriter that was originally invented by a group of teachers at Perkins in 1951. This Next Generation Brailler was the first major redesign of the machine in over 50 years.

The original Brailler

Instead of the usual 40+ keys found on a typical typewriter, the Brailler only includes six dot keys (one for each dot in the Braille alphabet), a space key, a backspace key, a line key, and an erase key (the newest addition). The paper feed is specially designed so as not to crush the raised dots in the paper. For a complete history of Braillers, see here.

Refreshable Braille display

As we shared with you in March, IDEO.org has taken the human-centered approach from IDEO to work with partners in the social sector focusing on design solutions for addressing problems in health, agriculture, water and sanitation, financial services and gender equity. Today, they announced their three initial projects:

• New water models for Winrock International - Develop programs that allow for safe access to daily water needs including drinking, sanitation and agriculture.


• Strategic opportunities with the Rockefeller Foundation - New intervention opportunities related to problems facing poor and vulnerable communities


• TEDx in a Box - Develop tools for organizers without access to technology to create TEDx experiences in informal settlements around the world.

Partnering a cross-section of IDEO.org fellows from within the IDEO family and from outside, this year's inaugural class of 8 Innovators in Residence have set the bar high. They include: Emily Friedberg, a business designer and seasoned veteran of international development; Liz Ogbu, an architect, professor, and expert on sustainable design and the spatial conditions of challenged urban environments; Marika Shioiri-Clark, an architect committed to social change with experience designing hospitals in Rwanda; Jessica Vechakul, a mechanical engineer with extensive experience working with local inventors and rural communities; and Salvador Zepeta, a systems designer and former McKinsey consultant with public sector expertise. Fellows from inside of IDEO include Robin Bigio, a passionate and charismatic industrial designer from IDEO London; Sarah Lidgus, an experienced writer, strategist, and storyteller from IDEO New York; and Adam Reineck, a seasoned project lead and industrial designer from IDEO Palo Alto.

This marks the second-to-last edition of the Coroflot Genius Gallery. We've seen hundreds of amazing portfolios over the past three months, often to the extent that our running list of our top picks seems to grow faster than we can feature them. (Worst case, if you were shortlisted but didn't make the final cut, we'll consider your portfolio or thumbnails for a feature in our member gallery or our regular featured portfolio page.)

This week was no exception, and while it skewed towards Core's focus on industrial design, the likes of James Zanoni and Tina Kugler make for a nice mix of work across the board.

Jesse Den Herder (Central Lake, Michigan) - Jesse's packaging and identity work comes across best through his board game creations.

James Zanoni (New York, New York) - James is a motion graphics whiz, and both his graphic and video work demonstrate his mastery of digital special effects.

Narayan Subramaniam (Ahmedabad, India) - Narayan comes up with some speedy-looking vehicle designs.

Jet Ong (Shenzhen, China) - Jet has a gift for elegant yet memorable product design.

Velichko Velikov (London, United Kingdom) - Velichko is a veritable jack-of-all-trades who specializes in 3D but also finds expression in a range of media.

Tina Kugler (Los Angeles, California) - Tina's superb illustrations truly capture a child-like sense of wonder.

Rafael Morgan (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) - We've seen Rafael's clever designs before and I'm sure we'll be seeing him again.

Ronny Sauer (Leipzig, Germany) - Ronny's slick ID work has a distinctly human touch to it.

So this is it: get your submissions in by this Thursday, September 22, for a chance to be featured in the final installment of the Coroflot Genius Gallery! Even though the program is winding down this week, we know for a fact that there are still tons of exceptional portfolios on Coroflot and we're looking to go out with a bang, so don't be shy and show us what you've got!