Universal Design Challenge 2011

Recently myself and Alan were invited to take part in the Universal Design Challenge in Tullamore. The Universal Design Challenge is a two day competition for design teams to create a new Universal Design. It is operated by the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design at the National Disability in collaboration with the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art.

This year the theme was Everyday Consumer Products.

Teams of 6 competed over 24hrs to come up with new product concepts based in universal design. Teams were a mix of final year BSc, MSc and up to one year graduates from Product and Industrial Design courses across Ireland.

Myself and Alan were both selected to be team leaders which was a good start to the competition as now we could really fight it out. This was interesting as we are used to being on the same team when it comes to design so this was almost like a civil war.

Alan's team came up with a concept for a modular bag system that can be tailored to suit your exact needs for any given day. My team ended up looking at the use of keys on a daily basis and designed a pod for your keys that allows them to be easily located and used instead of fumbling around with small keys.

Check out more of our designs and some more photos from the event below... photos courtesy of Jack from Mint

EDC - Every Day Carry

A number of months ago I stumbled across a blog that featured photographs and lists of the things that people carry with them each day. Everyday Carry is simple in principle, viewers send in photographs showing what items they carry on their person on a daily basis and the photos are posted for everyone to see and discuss.

Everyday Carry or EDC, to quote the description given on their site,

Everyday Carry, or EDC, generally refers to small items or gadgets worn, carried, or made available in pockets, holsters, or bags on a daily basis to manage common tasks or for use in unexpected situations or emergencies. In a broader sense, it is a lifestyle, discipline, or philosophy of preparedness.

EDC is seemingly becoming a trend amongst some people and it is being taken very seriously with enthusiasts upgrading their carry to be prepared for any circumstance. Looking through the entries on the site I began to develop an interest in the concept and despite the affinity towards carrying guns (it is an american site) it was very interesting from a designers point of view to see what people were carrying with them on a day-to-day basis.

I thought I'd do one of my own. An industrial design student's carry. I decided to go beyond the normal format of showing your personal carry and delve deeper into what I have in my bag as a designer. This moves onto another trend of "What's in your bag" or WIMB where people show the contents of their bag and often the bag and the owner. This allows a very interesting insight into what people all over the world use every day. WIMB is a growing trend also and is very relevant on flickr with groups dedicated to it here and here along with a very specific group for users showing what they keep in their camera bags which is especially interesting to me as a photographer and a photography equipment nerd.

I did the photo above around the time when I originally discovered the Everyday Carry blog and I blogged about it at the time albeit on my own blog (which is suffering now since I am updating the Curve blog!) I am including some of the write up from my last blog after the jump. . .

The Future is Going to be Amazing!

A few years back I nearly fell off my chair. I was watching a nanotechnology video about a new waterproofing technology. The results were breathtaking, I had never seen anything like it before, but unfortunately the technology was only for military applications and I never heard anymore about it. Now years later, when nanotechnology hype has died down, a new video has emerged that implies a consumer version of that very same technology. The technology is described as superhydrophobic, and like all good technologies, it comes in a spray can.

Social Media is not a fad

If you ever thought sites like facebook, twitter, itunes were a fad, you maybe be wrong. Of course the sites themselves might change but soical media is far from being a fad. In fact it may be the most important thing since the Gutenberg press. Watch the above video by Erik Qualman if you have any doubts.

Kick-Ass Renders by Raul Gonzalez Podesta

Admit it. If the title of this post didn't include 'render', you would have no idea that the above image is the work of Raul Gonzalez Podesta and his skills with a computer. His renders are enough to make you envious and down right inadequate. They match and surpass their photo counterparts. Raul has taken product imagining to a whole new level, nearly over refining them to an over the top level.