The Autodesk Sustainability Workshop is a free and vast online resource that aims to teach sustainability strategies, from micro to macro. The simple, easily-digestible series of strategy videos, tutorials and case studies can help students, educators, designers, engineers and architects not only learn about sustainability, but how to directly apply it.
Core77 asked 5 students to take it for a test spin, investigating the workshop and using Autodesk software to incorporate what they'd learned in a re-design of a commonplace object. In the final installment of our series, we look at Arizona-based John Turner (B.S.D. in Industrial Design, Spring 2012) and his "Hydra."
Core77: John, tell us about yourself.
I was born and raised in Gilbert, Arizona, and am currently finishing up my Industrial Design degree at Arizona State University. I am 22 years old.
What made you decide to study industrial design?
I've always been interested in making things and figuring out how they work. When I was in high school I was introduced to ID as a profession when the Phoenix Art Museum had an introductory hands-on Industrial Design workshop in conjunction with their streamlined car exhibit. I attended and from there it was no turning back.
Where did you decide to study, and why?
Initially I chose to study at Arizona State University for financial reasons and because the professor that taught the workshop at the Phoenix Art Museum teaches at the school. What also attracted me to the program was the school's strong focus on materials, processes, and professional practice. Now in my final year, I am part of ASU's Innovation Space, a multi-disciplinary program that teams me with an engineer, a visual communications designer, and a business major to work through a project sponsored by Dow Corning.
What areas of industrial design are you interested in focusing on?
I like getting into the details and thinking about how all the parts of a system come together. Most of my focus is on consumer products. This summer I interned at Design Packaging, Inc. and got to learn a lot about packaging, which is an avenue I would like to continue to explore.
Tell us about your project, the "Hydra."
At first I was focusing on finding an object around the house that could be designed more efficiently. I was looking at things like toasters, headphones, and irons. Then I was notified that I could rework a previous project that I had done, so I switched over to the outdoor tool set that I designed last year. While I liked the concept, the execution was off. So I saw this as a chance to get the project right.
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