Showing posts with label Product Design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Product Design. Show all posts

Wednesday, 30 November 2016

37 Great New Designers from Adobe Design Achievement Awards 2016



For the past five years I have had the great pleasure of being selected as a mentor for the ico-D and Adobe design Achievement Awards. This year however, I had the added bonus of also being chosen as a pre selection judge! I really enjoy what the awards stand for and it always feels so good to be able to support young design talent!

Below are some of the fantastic young/student designers that I discovered, whilst judging the awards. There's some amazing talent here! If your hiring new creatives I would certainly urge you to view some of these talented young design stars of tomorrow and please support the ADAA!


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Wednesday, 26 October 2016

Edible Drone - The Future of Aid Delivery



This incredible invention from Windhorse Aerospace could see a revolution in the way the world delivers aid to those effected by natural disasters.

 The Windhorse website writes:

"For the first time ever, aid will be delivered accurately to those in desperate need with this use of a revolutionary and unique Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV).

There were over 125 natural disasters last year, add this to areas of conflict and the number of people starving as a result gets to breath taking levels.

Access to the people affected can be restricted due to the loss of infrastructure and many other dangers. Also, traditional methods of deploying aid can be ineffective, inaccurate or just impossible to use.

Windhorse has developed a specialist UAV called POUNCER™ that will be loaded with appropriate food, transported to the disaster area and fly independently to its pre-planned destination and land accurately into the selected landing zone, avoiding all infrastructure problems, corruption or hostile groups while saving time, money and more importantly lives.

POUNCER™'s pre-formed shell can be reused to provide shelter, the frame can be burnt safely to cook food, and the payload, which is food and water, provides life saving nutrition."

For more information on this amazing innovation you can  click here to download the factsheet.

You can view a short film about the Pouncer by Windhorse Aerospace by clicking here.

You can read more about the Pouncer by visiting the Windhorse Aerospace website by clicking here.

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Monday, 11 April 2016

The World's Thinnest Laptop - The HP Spectre



Ok, so I am a graphic designer and yes that does mean I am an Apple user! Ive used an Apple all my professional life but as I was reading through the brand, design and technology news today, this stunning designed, new HP laptop was unavoidable to ignore.  Its styling and finishing is just stunning!

Here is what the HP website has to say: This is design and technology taken to a whole new level. Artisan materials and striking craftsmanship create an experience unlike anything else. With a uniquely stunning design 10.4mm thin combined with impressive performance with full Intel® Core™ i5 or i7 power2, the world's most luxurious laptop is completely irresistible.



Piston hinge design
Drawing inspiration from high-end furniture details, the stunning simplicity of the artfully-crafted piston hinge folds flush for a clean, nearly hingeless look.



Crafted with durable aluminum and carbon fibre, this impossibly thin laptop redefines perfection.
The world's thinnest laptop - Featherweight 13-inch laptop weighs just 2.45 pounds. 

Images from HP. Read more at the HP website by clicking here. 


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Monday, 29 February 2016

Design Council - Design Bugs Out!


Britain's Design Council champion great ideas that make things better and ultimately improves lives. This was illustrated perfectly by David Kester in his 2011presentation at Cape Town's Design Indaba. His speech focused on a challenge that the Design Council made to Britain's top designers and manufacturers to reduce infection rates within the NHS. Companies worked in collaboration to produce innovative hospital furniture and equipment that improved usability, storage and made them easier and quicker to clean.

The Bedside Cabinet

Fewer hard-to-reach corners and surfaces make the bedside cabinet easier to clean and more accessible for patients. The problem: Existing bedside cabinets are difficult to clean. Their complex internal spaces, inaccessible surfaces, angular joints and rough, absorbent materials can harbour liquids, dirt and bacteria. The solution: A revised version of the traditional bedside cabinet made from durable, wipe-clean plastic that reduces the number of hard-to-reach corners and surfaces without cutting down patient storage space.


Commode Patient Chair

Robust, functional and easy to clean, the commode minimises the risk of infection without compromising the patient’s dignity. The problem: Existing commodes tend to be made up of multiple parts, with complex junctions between different materials. This makes them difficult and time-consuming to take apart for thorough cleaning. The solution: A simplified construction makes cleaning the commode quicker and easier, reducing the risk of HCAIs. Aesthetic and functional changes also improve patient comfort and dignity.


Please click here to read more about this incredible project and here to read about more of the amazing work that the Design Council are currently doing.
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Friday, 24 July 2015

Why Pink & Blue?


I recently became a dad to a wonderful, amazing little boy and he is definitely the most loved new addition to my design life.

Whilst my wife was still pregnant, we decided that we did not want to know the babies sex before the birth and loved the idea of it being a surprise. This however was met with some shock and surprise from a good many of our friends who just couldn't believe that we wouldn't want to know this in advance. How could we possibly prepare if we didn't know what colour to decorate the babies room or buy them clothes?

I suddenly started to ask myself why! Who decided that pink was a feminine colour and blue masculine. The marketeers? The branding experts? More so, why is there actually a need for a gender based distinction? At this point my curiosity kicked in and I suddenly wanted some answers.

After some research, I found images of babies clothing from the 18th century, showing both girls and boys in white frilly dress style outfits. Many articles claim that It wasn't until the mid 19th century that the pastel colours began to appear, although it seems as though the colours weren't gender specific at this point and in many cases it was pink for boys and blue girls. On other occasions it was blue for blonde and blue eyed babies and pink for brunettes or those with brown eyes.

It was't until the 1940's that retailers settled on blue for boys and pink for girls. In the 1960's and 70's, trends moved towards more neutral colours, which many believe to be related to the women's liberation movement. The development of parental testing in the 1980's brought pink and blue back as the 'natural' choice for parents to dress their baby's and paint the nursery.

However some believe that colour preferences among the sexes are biological rather than that made by culture. An experiment by the University of Newcastle in Great Britain conducted tests on a number of participants from cultures without the blue and pink gender distinctions, to find that the female subjects still had a preference to pink and male towards the blue.

I would love to get your thoughts on this topic. Are these colour preferences nature or nurture?

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