nlucero.com

Emily said Yes!

Nathan — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:31:02 +0000

On September 9, 2011, around 7:00pm, on the Observation Deck at the De Young museum in San Francisco, California, Emily said “Yes!”

Pixel to Panels

Nathan — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 22:36:26 +0000

Getting into Grasshopper

Nathan — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 20:04:40 +0000

Although I took a workshop on Grasshopper back in February, I’m now just starting to apply it to projects at work. I’m having to relearn some of the content from the workshop and reverse engineer from examples I’ve found online. The Director of our studio is comfortable with the program and my coworker, Jeff Vaglio has used it in two major projects. I have learned a lot from them.

So what is Grasshopper? From grasshopper3d.com:

For designers who are exploring new shapes using generative algorithms, Grasshopper® is a graphical algorithm editor tightly integrated with Rhino’s 3-D modeling tools. Unlike RhinoScript, Grasshopper requires no knowledge of programming or scripting, but still allows designers to build form generators from the simple to the awe-inspiring.

The way I understand it, Grasshopper is a parametric modeling program that uses components that reference geometry inside Rhino. The geometry can be as simple as a point and as complex as a twisting surface. A group of components that preform a task or create a design is called a definition and a Grasshopper definition does not exist as geometry until it is “baked”. The cool part is that you don’t loose anything in the definition when you bake it into Rhino. This means one can make changes to a definition, bake, make more changes, bake again, and now there are multiple variations of one design.

on left is the resulting geometry created by the definition on the right

Once the geometry is baked it's static and the definition is also preserved

The definition can then be changed, in this case rotated and scaled

The new definition can then be baked again resulting in a new version

left: geometry in Rhino - right: the definitions in grasshoper

So far I have only used Grasshopper to create geometry for designs that have components with the same logic locally, but are unique globally. I want to eventually use it to create unique designs that are expressive and hyper-rational, a term I acquired from Nathan Miller. Some amazing designed have been achieved using Grasshopper. For some amazing examples follow this link.

Like any creative or technical tool, I’m looking forward to pushing it’s capabilities. If I’m lucky, and persistent, I’ll hopefully find a new way to use Grasshopper.

accdproductgrads.com 2.0

Nathan — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:18:59 +0000

nlucero.com 5.0

Nathan — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 05:35:37 +0000

Nlucero 4.0 was a big change for my site. It went from using Flash to using WordPress and it also added a blog section along with the portfolio work. Although a huge improvement my site lost something in the transition. It was much easier to update but now it was quite wordy. I create visual and physical material and my site was not reflecting that. This new version of my site addresses that shortcoming. It is much more visual.

nlucero.com 4.0 screen shot

The last version also hid recent work below the scroll line and was a little bloated. The new version displays all work in a three by three grid and takes up less space while showing more images. There is also less separation between blog post and portfolio post. All of my content reflects how I think and design so I have chosen to mix them together in the home page.

nlucero.com 5.0 navigation

The navigation the allows you to list different categories of content. Another big chance is that the new site is open to different categories. I can choose to add a photo category separate from portfolio and blog if I want to do so.

It’s has been a busy four months. The next task is to add what I’ve been working on.

Pressed Wood Designs

Nathan — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 07:43:40 +0000

If I had the capital, I would prototype and build the wooden bird feeder I designed during Art Center. The idea started term 2 when I press molded micro-ply to create parts for a metal detector design. The parts came out really well. The look of the wood was really attractive to me and it was a shame I had to paint over it to achieve a plastic look.

metal detector handle before primer and paint

metal detector handle painted

In term 7 I took Project X; an open class where the student decides what to design. I revisited the molded wood process and used it on the wooden bird feeder design. The results again were pretty good. I tested and modified the process so that I could create the conic forms of the bird feeder.

conic wooden form from simple wooden press

final model

The class concluded and I finished my next, and last, term at Art Center. I haven’t been able to return to the bird feeder design but I hope to one day. All of this came back to me today when the Director of my studio sent me a link to a video on the making of the Series 7 chair designed by architect/designer Arne Jacobsen. It shows the process it takes to create the wooden form of the Series 7 chair. It’s very similar to the process I would like to use to create my wooden bird feeder.

On a side note, that video led me to a really amazing you-tube channel called find me the original. The following is a video from that channel. Enjoy.

Rebranding Post Art Center

Nathan — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 07:28:36 +0000

I have a lot of respect for graphic designers, especially when I take on the challenge of creating the logo for my personal brand. How hard can it be? Well very hard apparently. The challenge is to try to sum up who I am as a designer into one graphic symbol. So here is a short review. It’s been two years since I graduated from Art Center and I have started a new career in a field I didn’t even knew existed during college. My career combines my education from Art Center with my technical experience prior to Art Center. I have changed as a designer and as an adult. I have also taken on projects outside of industrial design.

This is the logo I am replacing and it no longer reflects the designer I am becoming. It was meant to communicate measured, modern, and even strong due to my work experience. But now this logo reads more safe than measured, more retro than modern, and too bold instead of strong. With this in mind I did some graphic exploration. I used the same color but used a different font that is simple, yet refined.

After a couple of variations I realized I’m in a rut. I need to put my usual process to the side for a while. Maybe no text in the logo. Different colors. I need to scribble a little bit.

I don’t regret the logo I designed when I was in Art Center. I think it was appropriate for that time in my career. But now I have a better idea of where my skills are taking my career. The only issue is that my career is still changing. Maybe that should influence the logo design as well.

I Wish I Maintained a Blog During Art Center

Nathan — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:17:23 +0000

During my time at Art Center it would have been good for me to have content that others could see that was not class work. It would have been a good way to communicate process, personality, and a sense of what it was like in the studios at Art Center. I still thought it would be interesting to post some photos so I looked through my external hard drive and gathered a small collection I took while I was a student.

a block of wook on the FADAL CNC machine

research board for Mobility 2

visual communication class

class critque

laptop, coffee, me

mock-ups and renderings

studio space term 8

final graduating show

An Unexpected Career Path

Nathan — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 07:33:34 +0000

Like many professionals, I am not working where I thought I would be. Upon graduation from Art Center, I only saw two options: work for a company like Kohler, Nokia or Ford, or work for a design consultancy like Continuum, Smart Design or IDEO. Working for a company like Enclos Corp was a third option I never considered. My title at Enclos Corp is “Industrial Designer”, not “Product Designer”. I have this title because the work I do each day requires not only the skills I learned at Art Center, but also those I gained through prior work experience. This wasn’t what I expected; I thought that the jobs I was doing prior to and during my time at Art Center were mostly unrelated to the career for which I was preparing myself. Instead, I discovered that the work I did to earn money while pursuing my goals gave me a big boost toward actually achieving those goals.

photo from The Model where I worked prior to Art Center

How Did I Get Here?

I found my job because the Director of Enclos Corp’s Advanced Technology Studio knew about Art Center and was specifically looking to hire a designer who was an Art Center graduate. The premise of the Advanced Technology Studio was to bring a combination of different disciplines together, and the presence of an Art Center grad would theoretically add a level of creativity to the mix. The Director assumed that a designer from Art Center would push boundaries and introduce challenging new concepts. But they still needed someone who knew enough about architectural drafting and construction to work on projects without requiring an enormous amount of training. So the job Enclos Corp posted on Art Center’s alumni online job board required an odd combination of skills. They needed someone from Art Center with architectural drafting or construction experience. It is uncommon for Consumer Product Designers to have that combination of skills. I had two very good interviews and started a month after applying for the job.

an AutoCAD graphic I produced for my sample pdf to Enclos

New Opportunities For Product Designers

My experience at Enclos Corp so far has taught me that many different kinds of companies can benefit from hiring Product Designers. Product Designers have a very valuable skill set that can obviously be used when developing a consumer product, but can also benefit many other fields. To again use myself as an example, I technically work for a construction subcontractor that has a major role in how a trained work force installs and uses its product. Anytime a company is considering how people are going to use a product, it would benefit greatly from hiring a Product Designer. Good Product Designers always consider human factors when developing their designs. They are also trained to imagine unintended use, and conduct research that involves interview, observation, documentation and first hand experience. A Product Designer’s perspective, skills and focus can help a construction subcontractor make its product that much more successful.

Knowing this, the challenge becomes finding companies that may not know how much they would benefit from hiring a Product Designer, and convincing them that they would. Examples that come to mind include: charter schools, non-profit humanitarian organizations, web application developers, musical instrument manufacturers, hospitals, retirement homes, public transit and public safety organizations. Another challenge is discovering what skills designers can bring to their work from outside Art Center, or what skills they can nurture while inside Art Center that can open up new possibilities for their future careers.

Design Council Case Study: Design Bugs out

Another factor to consider is that the volume of products consumed by industrialized society will have to be reduced. I see this as a key part of sustainable design. We must either find a way to harvest materials from landfills and recycling, or create products that last forever. The best case scenario is probably a mix of the two. This means we as Product Designers will need to expand our career possibilities. We will have to adapt to a different kinds of design, not just consumer products. We will need to get involved with more facets of our society, not just what people purchase at a store.

Blogs In The Time of Facebook

Nathan — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 05:14:20 +0000

On December 16, 2010 the PEW Internet & American Life Project released a report on the percentages of people from each marketing group that use the internet and the kinds of activities they take part in. Some of the results were interesting. For example, the number of people aged 74 and up (the G.I. Generation) using social networks like Facebook and online services like online banking has noticeably increased. There is also an increase in people age 46 to 64 (Baby Boomers) listening to music online, which was previously an activity that mostly X’ers and Millenials took part in. Across the spectrum internet activities have increased in all groups, but what caught my attention was that blogging in the Millennial group had decreased. The report suggested that activity that was usually blogged is now being communicated through social networks.

From the point of view of a working designer that tries to maintain a blog, this makes a lot of sense. A blog can be a very effective form of communication, but using the platform takes time and some level of expertise. Social networks have designed their platforms to be incredibly easy to use. Social networks are also constantly adding new features that make the experience more immersive. But I don’t think blogs are going fall off the face of the internet, because social networks have tailored their platforms around a different form of human interaction.

I have a Facebook account and like most I check it at least once a day (OK, more like 5 times a day), but there are a lot of things I do not share on Facebook. I don’t post my work from college, or any material from work. On Facebook I don’t write long notes, and I try not to write long posts or comments. To use a metaphor, Facebook is a party where everyone is sharing stories, pictures and opinions that spark conversations. This is very important part of the human experience, so I don’t mean to discredit it. But if Facebook is a party, then a blog is an interview at a calm coffee shop. There’s more room for longer and more in depth forms of expression, and – just like an interview – they provide a better picture of the person.

Blogs are where I go to get information that has more substance than that generally found on Facebook, but that lacks the structure and editorial hierarchy of a newspaper. I like to subscribe to the RSS feeds of blogs from colleagues from Art Center and the design industry. I like to comb through archives and see the history of blog posts. I enjoy seeing how other people write and present their work and events. I spend a lot of time writing a blog post (mainly because I’m more of a tactile and visual person) so I assume that time has been taken to write the blog post I am reading. Before social networks became so popular, blogs were the platform for sharing conversations, stories and photos as well as written and visual work. If Facebook has redirected some of the more casual personal communication away from blogs, then I am looking forward to seeing blogs become the internet’s go-to format for substance.