Alastair Warren · Things I'm Seeing

zzzz… zzzzzzz… Huh?

2011-04-29T19:46:00.001+01:00

I knew coming to Umeå Institute of Design would be hard work, and, well, it is! (Excuse the exhausted expression, I’ve just finished the weekly volleyball match and returned to UID at 12am to wire up my electric screwdriver for interim presentation – yeah so it’s not all hard work, but at least that’s why this blog went a tad quiet…)

Obviously this blog has missed out on my attention for a fair while, but I am still alive and kicking, and do intend to revive it in good time.

Where I’ve Been

I’ve never been so busy and so inspired at the same time, so simply the chaff has taken the cut. I’m currently squeezing in volleyball, learning Swedish, and some good nights with friends, but not this blog as well. And now barbeques are fighting for the remaining minutes, but at least the midnight sun makes more time!

In terms of my studies, it’s going great. I’ve developed my skills massively, and had a hell of lot of fun along the way. I’ve loved every single project, and this final project for the year is just as exciting. I’ve worked on a mail delivery vehicle for the Swedish postal service, an interaction/sound/light design project which is currently submitted for a competition, a realistic-for-manufacturing electric screwdriver, and now a home-monitoring system for asthmatics.

My Spring 2011 portfolio is hot off the press and available for viewing at alastairwarren.com, so you can check out the projects there.

What I’m Up To Now

So it’s now one month to go, before another awesome chapter to fill in. I’m taking a year away for internships, returning in August 2012. The details are yet to be decided, but no doubt it’ll be a blast and I’ll have the opportunity to live and work in some pretty exciting places. It boggles my mind that I’ve been away from home for 11 months now and it’s only just beginning.

In reality I expect to fire this blog back up in about September, so until then, ha det bra!

Cheers, Alastair

Awesome Digital Puppet Show Using Xbox Kinect

2010-11-20T11:33:00.001Z

Very cool little project, apparently produced in one day. I wonder how this kind of technology will integrate more into our daily lives.

Concept and production by Emily Gobeille and Theo Watson of Design I/O. Via Engadget.

Making the Tube Social Again

2010-10-28T12:07:00.001+01:00

When I was living in London I was struck by how antisocial travelling on The Underground is. Everyone is busy on their smartphone, reading the tube papers, cranking their iPod, and doing basically everything they can to avoid eye contact with other commuters and heavens-forbid possibly sparking a conversation.

I’m sure some people want to have a conversation, but if they’re not having one they’d rather listen to music than do nothing. However interrupting people with headphones on, or “disturbing” someone by saying “Hi” seems to be a social no-no, so these conversations don’t happen. I’ve talked with mates about this, and it’s definitely not the case everywhere, i.e. in India where on some trains you basically make friends with everyone nearby every time you travel.

Enter the Design for the First World, The Rest Saving the West design competition. The winner, Brazilian designer Layla Cavalcante, was announced late September but I’ve just come across it.

I love the concept.

I’m not entirely sure how it would be realised, but I’d love to have some sort of subtle indicator like this. I’ve recently left London after a two-month working holiday, and it would have been great to sometimes have spent my two hours a day on the tube meeting others and having a good chat. It’s something that afflicts the whole First World that I’ve seen, and apparently is a emerging trend in urban areas of developing nations such as India as well. Time to return to casual friendliness.

View the winning entry.

How to Make Organically Shaped Gears

2010-09-22T21:43:00.000+01:00

Not entirely sure what the use of this is but no doubt there are some good applications, will have to file this away in the brain locker. Well worth spending three minutes learning how it works.

Tutorial by Clayton Boyer, found via Monkee Design.

Awesome Re-Invention of the ATM by IDEO

2010-09-15T20:15:00.000+01:00

Awesome 3D Light Painting / Motion Graphics Made with Ipad

2010-09-15T20:05:00.001+01:00

Definitely watch this. Made by Dentsu London, found on Core77 via my classmate Dogan Sekercioglu.

Creepy but Awesome Robot Snake Climbs Trees and has a Gander Around

2010-09-06T22:10:00.001+01:00

Not much more needs to be said but it comes from the smart people at Carnegie Mellon and I found it via Monkee Design.

The Gestures of Reading a Book

2010-08-13T18:30:00.005+01:00

Produced by João Machado via Swiss Miss.

Benefits of Gender Divide? Ladies-only Carriages on Mexico City Subway

2010-08-13T15:10:00.002+01:00

Really interesting little article about how a gender divisions on the public subway create a more open and social environment for women. Seems the environment this creates is far nicer than the subways I’ve been on, where no one talks or makes a disturbance and quickly pulls out their phone/newspaper to get into their own world. It begs the question is gender division necessarily always bad thing? Seems not.

Photo and article from Eleanor Davies’ Frog Spawn blog on Frog Design’s Design Mind.

How to Combine Fonts: Type for the Rest of Us

2010-08-13T11:34:00.001+01:00

Having never had type training I’m slowly learning about it myself, here’s a really useful article I stumbled across recently. Looking forward to giving it a shot as I’ve never really combined fonts, let alone really different styles. From Typography.com.

Incredible Miniature art: Dalton Ghetti & Willard Wigan

2010-08-13T11:25:00.001+01:00

Dalton Ghetti:

More of Dalton Ghetti on Odd Stuff Magazine via @hannahdollery.

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Willard Wigan:

motivation: Bigger rewards get worse results

2010-08-13T11:12:00.001+01:00

Nissan tries to encourage people to stay in cars

2010-08-02T23:17:00.003+01:00

Thought this was a very interesting point of view:

“We want drivers to feel that they are healthier staying in the car instead of on the outside”
-- Nissan engineer to AFP.

I'm pretty sick of consumers being pushed unnecessary and even unhealthy health and hygiene products, so it's sad to see car companies fighting to make people want to stay inside of cars rather than go outside. However that's a big can of worms I'll open another day. On the flip side it's a unique and intriguing area of innovation for cars. Via Engadget

Awesome physical Controls that move around on top of screen

2010-08-02T23:12:00.001+01:00

Imagine the possibilities of this. Another interesting snippet that Engadget’s produced lately.

Enormous Super-Bus Cars Can Drive Under

2010-08-02T23:08:00.001+01:00

Watch the video, this is seriously cool and construction begins later this year in China.

Flamethrower vs. Fire Extinguisher: Super Slow-Mo HD

2010-08-02T23:04:00.001+01:00

Looks very cool. Amazing to see how the flame shoots out into the distance.

Via Engadget

So Simple, so Obvious, But So Awesome

2010-05-13T07:11:00.004+01:00

Something I haven’t seen before, this would be so incredibly handy! Unsure about the need for shocks on a dedicated urban bike — I guess the shocks would help a laptop out, but probably the bag it’s in would do most of the shock absorption. I’d love to see a range of frames and bike styles.

Made by TATO, a Swiss start-up from Lausanne. Via Bicycle Design.

Captivating Promo Video for an Actual Paper Book!

2010-05-12T23:19:00.004+01:00

Going West, by Maurice Gee. NZ Book Council. Pretty awesome, and it’s cool to see video being used for a good old paper book. I think it does an awesome job of capturing how your imagination runs wild in a book, instead of having it illustrated for you in a movie.

Produced by Colenso BBDO Animated by Andersen M Studio. Found via Hannah Dollery's blog

Product Lust: Reflectius Clock by Art Lebedev

2010-05-12T23:12:00.002+01:00

This click uses sixty rotating mirrors to reflect one laser beam around the display, creating the time display. Follow the link and take a close look at the mirrors rotating to change the display, so cool!

There’s also a short page on the development process, here's some excerpts:

http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/reflectius/

“Augmented Mindfulness” by Josh Musick (Frog)

2010-05-12T22:56:00.003+01:00

Aiding users through better awareness of their own actions.

Really interesting, read more on this post: http://designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/designing-for-awareness.html

I find this field really interesting, one of my favourite projects at Massey was a smart watch that used this “augmented mindfulness” to aid with diet, fitness, and sport training: http://alastairwarren.com/#lifestyer-link

Why use a disc for your disc brake when a chainring will do?

2010-03-26T23:24:00.006Z

I don't want a bike without brakes, but I like the uncluttered look. This is a pretty awesome idea.

Via trackosaurusrex

Designing Moods

2010-03-21T06:05:00.001Z

I've come across a few number of very interesting studies lately that delve into subconscious human behavior, things we do without realising it. Extremely interesting reading:

People work better in rooms that smell nice. You'll be more pleasant, selfless and charitable. LifeHacker
We're better at solving mathematics when we're sad, and by sitting down to solve maths our mind will alter it's mood to become sadder, because it helps to solve the problems. Links to interesting discussion on depression and its possible benefits, and how various moods effect our mental abilities. ScienceBlogs
In a red room you'll feel hungriest, but you'll eat more in a yellow room. In a blue room you'll be more creative, but you'll be better at proof reading in a red room. Can't remember the link as I read this a while back.

I think the next step here is harnessing this knowledge to design optimal environments to achieve certain things. With proper application imagine the benefits to a school, health clinic, or workplace...

Beautiful: One Minute in Downtown SF

2010-03-21T02:01:00.008Z

Welcome!

2010-03-21T00:06:00.000Z

It's high time I created somewhere to note and develop my thoughts on all the interesting things I seem to come across day to day. So with no particular plan I'll be posting the most interesting things I find here; for me and for anyone else who happens across here and enjoys my point of view. Cheers.