Industrial Design is where I found my aptitude for User Experience. Understanding and empathizing with a users pain-points, then building something they can use means everyone wins.
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That is my goal when building websites and mobile experiences.
Video clip is of an Industrial Design class project created for people with hand and wrist mobility issues. (Target market: SF beer drinking coders)
Educational Highlights
Here are a few of my most memorable projects when I studied Industrial Design +.
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While I have no current interest in designing physical products or UI/ graphic arts,
I feel it is important to showcase the history of my User Experience problem solving passion.
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"We are products of our past,..." - Rick Warren
UX in Products
Physical product design and digital product design have a lot in common when it comes to research, ideation, prototyping, testing, and production.
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Though chunks of many projects I did while studying Industrial Design are long since gone, I still have enough of the pieces to showcase the conceptual process and the projects main points, which are always centered around an end Users Needs and Clients Wants.
Bottle Opener
The Solo Project:
Though bottle openers are in almost every household, their use is very minuscule. I had to find and research a demographic that was likely to use bottle openers and design a product to encourage use.
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Boomya Fitness Poles
Bathroom Bare-Feet
The Team Project:
People who used "Nortic Walking Poles" had issues with them, we had to come up with fixes for all of the issues.
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Note of Interest:
This project was done as a live client driven competition where it won honorable mention. This project was later repurposed by the client, sold, and manufactured on the mass market.
The Team Project:
The client wanted a bath mat that when he closed his eyes, he didn't feel like he was in the shower, but some other wonderful place, like a beach.
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Note of Interest:
This project was done as a competition for a live client and won by fulfilling and surpassing the clients request and requirements.
Scrub Brush
The Solo Project:
Ever scrubbed a bath tub? What did you use to scrub it? How did your hands feel when you were done?
Note of Interest:
99% of Women, regardless of hand size, held Model A one way. While 99% of Men held Model A the opposite way.
Water Delivery Problem
The Solo Project:
Move water from a bucket on the ground to the bucket on the table using a limited and specific amount of random supplies. MacGyver, this ones in your honor.
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Condom Packaging
The Team Project:
Condom packages are tough to open, can easily get punctured, and can kill the mood for their intended use. We were to create a new type of packaging for condoms
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Note of Interest:
We were heavily encouraged to enter this design into a national condom repackaging competition that was going on at the time, but we were unable to do so due to funding issues.
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Form and Function
How do 3D forms fit into web design user experience?
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My comprehension of human psychology when it comes to man made objects is that regardless or not if it is a physical product or a digital product: Humans are humans.
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As humans, we take time to explore things we find interesting, and where time is spent, an emotional relationship grows to that item of interest.
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3D forms for me were one of many stepping stones to understanding and observing the human experience with objects. A correlation in relation to the objects complexity and level/duration of interest held with that object resulted in emotional bonding to those who encountered these objects and long term desiring to interact with those objects was discovered.
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In plain English: People bond to things they find interesting, I gained insight as to what captivated human interest and makes objects appealing and desirable to use. Part of humans bonding with a digital experience is understanding that the user's physical experience directly effects the digital products success.
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Teapots
2 different pots
The Problem:
Make a teapot that is symmetrical on both sides and manufactured using a specific molding technique.
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Dali Calla Lily
3D Puzzle
The Problem:
Create a 3D puzzle that has a minimum of 3 non obvious pieces and manufactured using a specific molding technique.
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Tessellation
The Problem:
Design and produce a single shape that can fit within itself on all sides with no gaps and manufactured using a specific molding technique.
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Digital 3D Models
Digital 3D forms, how do they fit into web design user experience?
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Having an understanding of physical 3d forms and how people interact with them is one thing, digital 3D items is a horse of a different color. You can look, but you can't touch... said every parent with kids.
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Part of the human experience is the sense of touch, but when you can't touch, how do you get someone to bond with the digital product?
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I began testing a few theories I had with these projects.
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Desks
2 desks
Tools
18th Century Microscope
Graphic Art
As with all art schools... they teach you the ropes on composition color theory, typography, color psychology, psychology of images and branding, as well as how to use the programs to create all of it.
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While I find all of the psychology stuff very interesting when it comes to the human experience and pure visual images... I don't like being so removed from understanding and effectively communicating the experiences I create for people other than myself.
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I love, and would rather be researching the WHY.
Words in Image
Light on Objects
Transitions
Digital Imaging
Visual Texture From Images
