Tom Dixon

After perusing Jacob's new book Process i found Tom Dixon, spotlighted for his work on the eps (expanded polystyrene) chair. Though i don't much care for the design of the chair itself, i do appreciate his process and visual skills. They have clarity and direction. His drawing skills are streamlined and simple, were not talking about Danial Simon's, Scott Robinson, or Sid Mead. In his drawings he utilizes simple shading accents and good line work. Though he doesn't utilize control lines his drawings and clear enough to get his point across.

folio

http://www.daapspace.daap.uc.edu/files/download/laramijr/XbBmyVIEoMICgcCNPfMzOA

its obviously still a work in progress but give me some feed back yo!

trailer

Favorites are hard, but if i had to chose a movie, my choice would have to be The Royal Tenenbaums.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eg6yIwP2vs&feature=related

Wes Anderson always seems to present the complexities of being human from an often hilariously stark perspective. From a purely artistic point of view his compositions are very well done, and show a good sense of balance and color choice. Each shot has so much character and truly presents his version of the story.

Ive turned to his movies in the past to help me prepare for designing and arranging things in my portfolio, for the feelings of clarity and subtlety in each shot.

Branding

For my brand clarity i chose the work of Stockholm Design Lab. Their design language is extremely legible and clear. In under a second a user or potential user is capable of knowing and understanding an extraordinary amount about the product. But aside from just a packaging point of view i think their graphic understanding is top notch, and applicable to the design of my portfolio and other presentations, where i want to express as much information to my audience as possible with out overwhelming them or distracting them. Reading a portfolio should be a easy, and require as little effort as possible. Your potential employer shouldn't have to pull strings to find out what your all about. It should be easy and have flow.

Design should always show thought. This is what distinguishes it from being purely art.

ok dave

Ok Dave!!! I found this website a few years ago and since then I’ve never forgot it.

www.okaydave.com

Yes, I would agree (!) Dave Werner's portfolio is way over the top (for an ID student), but that doesn't mean I don't wish it were mine. For each project Dave combines narration, music, video, photography and written text to more holistically explain his concepts. Dave's multimedia approach is capable of telling the story behind Dave’s projects rather than a few pages with pictures and text which we see so often. By watching the 3 minute project clip a viewer can really easily see his creative process. The viewer also begins to know a little more about who Dave is. More than anything else the projects in Dave’s portfolio sell Dave the man.

An Introduction

My entire life, up until college, I’ve felt like a spore. Waiting, in suspended animation, until that day I arrived at the Savannah College of Art and Design at which point I was activated. The reality of my instinct and skill became apparent to me and for a time seemed limitless. When I eventually hit an obstruction, I demanded it be removed. Thus, one year later, I was enrolled and attending the Industrial Design program in DAAP at the University of Cincinnati. Naturally, I am a driven individual; but under the direction of Cincinnati’s magnificent coop program my abilities have matured. Over the past three years I have worked for quarter at New Balance shoes in their advanced products division and two quarters at Ethicon Endosurgery in their harmonics division. Both Coops taught me so much when it comes design techniques and design process, but also how to be a productive member of a design team.

As a designer I believe it is my job to create experiences and feelings in people through my work. And as a designer I feel there is no better gift then one that will expand and further develop my understanding of the world, people, cultures and ideas that grace its vastness. Thus, as many of you know already, I have pursued and achieved the opportunity to take part in the UC/Germany exchange program. This means that in three months i will begin classes a the Universtat Wuppertal. The opportunity excites me greatly, representing a chance to fully immerse myself in a culture which i have always admired but only ever received in exports.

Many of you know i am dyslexic, so the thought of learning another language has always been a tedious process and a challenge i have not yet overcome. One of my goals this quarter is to learn German or at least as much as possible in the time period so that i am as prepared for my travels as possible. In other words proficiency is my goal for this quarter. To do this i would have liked to have taken a German class at UC however due to conflicts with my schedule Rosetta Stone language learning software will be my primary resource.

When it comes to designing, there is always room for improvement. In the summer o8 quarter I bought the 12wx cintiq, believing that such a tool would enable me to stream line my design process by going entirely digital as well as making my work easier to archive and store then the more traditional pen and paper. That said its been a few months and I'm still not as comfortable with the digital media as i am traditional. So for this quarter I want to learn how to and become comfortable with working entirely digital work flow. By pushing myself to use this tool for every drawing assignment I feel that in a matter of weeks I will be well on my way to achieving this goal.

I want to become a presentation master. Three quarters ago, I bombed my final critique. Two quarters ago I struggled through it. Last quarter, I worked it and even enjoyed it. The difference was sleep, and preparedness. The first one i had none. The second i was just holding on, but during the third one I was ready. I knew what i was going to present, but not exactly what i was going to say. This quarter I want to do better. I want to make a presentation i don't want to just present a thing. If there is one thing I've learned while being on coop, its that people don't want crap. If you have a crappy idea and a good idea but the crappy one is more finished 9 times out of ten they will choose the crappy idea. Same thing goes with presentations, your concept might rock but if you cant present it then your not doing your job correctly. In order to achieve this goal I will strive in two ways. First and foremost i will make sure i get the proper sleep, because with out it, I'm worthless and secondly i will prepare and practice running through a speech or detailed outline of my presentation.

Our Assignments

1/6 T – Introduce yourself, talk about your design experiences & interests. List goals for quarter.
1/8 H – Write about an interesting blog post on portfolio design (lifeclever.com, coroflot.com).
1/13 T – Write about a brand that communicates a clear and strong message. How do they do it
and how can it apply to your own work?
1/15 H – Choose your favorite movie trailer and discuss why it acts as a good teaser.
1/20 T – Post on 3 technologies and why they’re important, based on your HP research.
1/22 H – Post your final portfolio (screenshots and PDF). Find an inspiring designer with strong
visualization skills and write about their work. (Two posts)
1/27 T – Give your definition of good design and cite some examples.
1/29 H – Post Project #2. Discuss three things you’ve learned about visualization.
2/3 T – Find a successful illustrator/storyboard artist and analyze their work.
2/5 H – Post Project #3. Comment on three of your classmates’ blogs.
2/10 T – Write a definition for “innovation” or “design thinking.”
2/12 H – Post Project #4. Comment on three of your classmates’ blogs.
2/17 T – Write about your individual strengths as a designer and how you focus on them.
2/19 H – Review your goals from the beginning of the quarter and evaluate your progress.
2/24 T – Do an email interview about Des Comm. with a professional and post it.
2/26 H – Post about your three favorite tea kettles based on the audit from your research.
3/3 T – Evaluate the use of a blog as a communication tool about design.
3/5 H – Post Project #5. Comment on three of your classmates’ blogs.
3/10 T – Evaluate your work this quarter and list your goals for the next quarter.
3/12 H – Evaluate Design Comm. Talk about successes and ways to improve the course.