January 2010

Thumbnail image for is a secret bias blinding your research?

is a secret bias blinding your research?

If you are even remotely involved in user research, a hidden bias could be blinding you to the crucial insights that lead to breakthrough products and profits to match. Bias is nothing to be ashamed of, everyone (including researchers) has it.  In fact, the only group of  people that should be ashamed are the researchers [...]

Tagged as: bias, user research

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Thumbnail image for brainstorming in 109 words

brainstorming in 109 words

Brainstorming can be seen as fluffy, even superfluous. Seeing engineers and designers make recommendations like “fill it up with helium to make it lighter” or “what about aerogel” can be a little frustrating (especially if you don’t believe in brainstorming AND are the one paying these engineers). But what’s happens after a (good) brainstorm is [...]

Tagged as: brainstorming

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free body diagrams in product design

Free body diagrams are old-school, and when I was in school I didn’t think I’d use them much. Truth is, I actually use them alot. When I’m doing a feasibility study for a mechanism concept or calculating rough safety factors and don’t have time for an FEA simulation, free body diagrams are the best tool [...]

Tagged as: Finite Element Analysis (FEA), free body diagrams, statics

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Thumbnail image for The dirty little secret about environmental impact

The dirty little secret about environmental impact

When it comes to sustainable product design, if it has a circuit board, it’s environmental impact is big.  So big that changing the housing from a standard plastic to an eco-friendly option is often insignificant. How insignificant?  Epically insignificant.  Just check the stats (Thanks  Okala). I used ABS as a benchmark because it’s something we all know [...]

Tagged as: environmental impact, PCB

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Thoreau on perfect product design

My brother-in-law got me a copy of Thoreau’s Walden for Christmas (Thanks Phil!).  I’m only halfway through, but the pages are dripping with inspiration for good product design. Check that.  Perfect product design. For example, Thoreau proposes that: “a man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to leave alone.” [...]

Tagged as: perfect product design, product design, thoreau, Walden

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Thumbnail image for design with invisible hinges

design with invisible hinges

A colleague of mine used these recessed hinges on a design a few years back and got some real good results. It’s the best solution I’ve seen to the problem achieving clean rotation without big gaudy hinges mucking up the aesthetic. Check out more from Bartels.

Tagged as: hinges, hinges design

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Thumbnail image for Typefaces give us signals

Typefaces give us signals

photo credit: Luke Dorny I was reorganizing my Evernote notebooks and came across this (very well-done) 5 minute movie that exposes the feelings we get when we see certain typefaces. Certainly old hat for bona-fide typophiles, but eye-opening for the uninitiated. Plus it’s catchy:). Enjoy. Courtesy Eric Spiekermann by way of Presentation Zen

Tagged as: typography

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Thumbnail image for help make your stainless steel…stainless? what?

help make your stainless steel…stainless? what?

If you’re thinking, “Wait. Isn’t stainless steel already stainless?”, you’re aren’t the first. Everyone thinks the very same thing the first time they hear “stainless”.  I for one was under the same impression until I asked some embarrassing questions at my first co-op… an aerospace manufacturer that makes a living on stainless steel. But can we really [...]

Tagged as: stainless steel

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