July 2011

what you’re reading is important

It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it -Oscar Wilde

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aristotle on brainstorming

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. -Aristotle

Tagged as: brainstorming, product design

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when to use nonlinear finite element analysis

Dig even a little bit into the different fea packages out there and you will notice  a distinction between linear and nonlinear analysis. You might then wonder under what circumstances to use linear analysis and what circumstances to use nonlinear analysis? First off, let me say that mechanically speaking, there is no such thing as [...]

Tagged as: CAD, Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

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why design > marketing

The greatest thing to be achieved in advertising, in my opinion, is believability, and nothing is more believable than the product itself. -Leo Burnett

Tagged as: product design

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when patents attack, and more IP stuff

I’m about 20 minutes deep into ‘When Patents Attack’ on This American Life. It’s a pretty compelling story about how the IP system works or (especially in the case of software) doesn’t work. An interesting listen, regardless of your interest in patents. If the radio story piques your interest, check out what Fred Wilson and [...]

Tagged as: patent law

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FEA insights

Bob Ketelhohn (a colleague of mine) put together a pretty swell writeup over at Farm on FEA. Some of my favorite nuggets: FEA is a prototype reducing tool. It does not eliminate the need for real prototypes. Trust your gut. If it looks wrong, it probably is. Comparative analysis is your best friend. Mesh density [...]

Tagged as: Finite Element Analysis (FEA), product design

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sins of minimalist design

  Applying a minimalist aesthetic to something someone doesn’t need Choosing a aesthetic minimalism over environmental minimalism Designing redundant minimalist products (each product consist of less than the one before it) Ignoring nature… nothing is more minimalist. If it’s not laterally recyclable, it’s accumulative. Accumulative is maximalist. If you are having difficulty with a UI, [...]

Tagged as: Letters from a Stoic, minimalism, Walden

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