From the category archives:

design

3d printing hack

It’s not going to replace Makerbot or your local rapid prototyping house anytime soon, but still a pretty impressive hack.

Tagged as: 3d printing, hacks, makerbot, rapid prototyping

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For those of you who aren’t familiar with the industry, Makerbot is the (in my opinion) at the leading edge of the RepRap movement. Or, with less jargon: Makerbot is a build-it-yourself robot. It makes things out of plastic. It’s worth checking out their website for the details, in the meantime check out my buddy Nick’s [...]

Tagged as: 3d printing, makerbot, rapid prototyping

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liquid metal (as awesome as it sounds)

design

Just came across LiquidMetal today. Wow. At first I thought it was just a twist on Metal Injection Molding (MIM). Digging in a little further I realized that the really cool part isn’t the process, it’s the material. Liquid Metal isn’t actually a material, but a class of alloys, check out their website for more [...]

Tagged as: alloys, liquid metal, metal injection molding, springs

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UL + sustainability = the future?

design

Earlier this week I made my way up VC Hill to attend MassMEDIC’s Envirofoum. The two presenters, Robert B. Pojasek of Capaccio Engineering and Kevin Johnson of Siemens did a fantastic job, but one of the topics perked my ears up a little more than the rest: the recent rise of UL Environment. what is UL [...]

Tagged as: certification, UL, underwriters laboratories, validation

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curvature continuity 101

design

Courtesy of Adam O’Hern, the CAD Junkie. Be sure to check out the rest of his amazing tutorials here

Tagged as: CAD, curavture continuity, surface modeling, surfacing

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a quick thought on attention

design

I was going through my old bookmarks today and came across this short manifesto from Design Observer. I’ve written before on the true attention cost of things, but rereading the manifesto got me thinking a little further: Currently, we decide to bring things (be they artifacts or bits of information) by a simple ratio… utility/cost. [...]

Tagged as: attention

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are smartphones good?

design

I should disclose something: Ever since I dropped $300+ on a Motorola V600, I have been a smartphone addict. V600, RAZR, Blackberry Pearl, currently the Tmobile G1, and I can’t help but eye The Droid Incredible. Then, a few days ago I came across the Nokia C1-00. As I pored through it’s specs (6 week [...]

Tagged as: android, attention, benefits, iphone, nokia c1-00

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sealing medical cushions:
RF vs ultrasonic welding

design

Once your kickass memory foam design has been molded or fabricated, it’s probably going to need to be covered. That means upholstery. When you think of upholstery, you probably think of stitching and sewing. If you’ve got some practical experience, stapling might even come to mind. But when you start talking about designing medical cushions, [...]

Tagged as: fabrics, medical, RF welding, ultrasonic welding

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are attractive designs really more usable?

design

There has long been a precedent that users find attractive designs to be more usable. About a decade ago, a study found that users perceive attractive ATM’s as more usable. Recently, Rob Tannen noted a similar study on the effect aesthetics has on the perceived usability of cell phones. Now I’ve long since been sold on [...]

Tagged as: aesthetics, usability

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Thoreau on perfect product design

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: product design, thoreau

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design with invisible hinges

design

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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Typefaces give us signals

design

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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are you using too many labels?

design

It’s likely the case that the design of your product isn’t so terribly unintuitive that it needs to be covered with labels, warnings, instructions and disclaimers. It’s also probably the case that you’re product design isn’t perfect, and does require some labeling. (although striving for zero labels is exactly what you should be doing). No, [...]

Tagged as: aesthetics, usability

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6 non-sucky materials sites

design

As product designers we deal with materials every day, but it’s a messy world out there and a surprising (or maybe not so surprising) number of materials websites suck. These ones don’t. I promise. MatWeb MatWeb is the big daddy when it comes to engineering materials. Their enormous selection of generic (i.e. polycarbonate) and proprietary [...]

Tagged as: materials, references

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don’t design a wart

design

Sometimes you have to slap an addition onto a device. Maybe it’s because of an oversight in the initial design, or because a stakeholder wants to add a new feature to keep up with their competitor. The reason why doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’ve got to design something that looks and feels like [...]

Tagged as: aesthetics

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urethane casting guide: 5 things you need to know

design

I like urethane castings. They always look so clean and pretty. Use them for the wrong project however, and you’ll be stuck explaining to your client why you dropped a few grand on prototypes and have nothing to show for it but a receipt. When I evaluate castings for a project I’m working on, I [...]

Tagged as: prototyping, urethane casting, urethane casting guide

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durometer table graphic

design

80 Shore A? 30 Shore D? It seems every time a question of durometer pops up, I’m digging through the library looking for samples or googling “durometer table” to find the info I need. This graphic from Mcmaster-Carr suits most of my needs. Do yourself a favor and tack it up at your desk.

Tagged as: durometer table, elastomers

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