#cr05

Aside from looking at to nature for answers I was just as inspired by Jane Chen and Michael Pritchard. Both designers saw a major issue in society as to the lack of basic needs being available to not just well developed countries like the United States but to up and coming nations who are currently struggling. Simple things like fresh water or an incubator for premature infants, something that happens everyday in America. Here we are able to provide $20,000 dollar incubators to most hospitals as well as direct plumbing providing clean drinkable water. These designers recognized that most people in the world lacked such luxuries and decided to do something about it. Chen developed an affordable, reusable incubator using a special wax that can hold heat for hours at a time. Pritchard created a water bottle with the ability to turn the nastiest water into something same and drinkable with a filter and a few shakes of the bottle. The technology was around, someone just had to apply it directly to an issue and these designers did so. Inpirational! 

In Bio402 course, we studied the BP gulf oil spill and a little bit about toxicology. Oil is in no way an eco-friendly energy source, and the spill in 2010 had brought a lot troubles to the organisms in and around the area and so to human. We have designed wind towers, solar energy board and such, why can't we start applying them in our daily lives now? Instead, BP designed longer and border pipes so that they can drain oil from deeper sea, but the pipes ain't any safer. After the spill, BP had used more than 1.8 million gallons of Corexit, a chemical component designed to break down large oil particles. It is not safe either - it can cause skin and eye irritant, damage to red blood cells, liver and kidney, and in worse cases, it can cause respiratory, nervous system disorders. We've designed more harmful materials/products than one would really benefit us. Consider the environmental impact is really important when you design/invent something.

I really enjoyed the "green" aspect of the class. The small tips on heating and ventilation in lecture were very interesting to me because I live in a old house with old cold windows. Its always enjoyable to see the greener side of design world. The video that I found most interesting would be the video with Janine relating many ideas and products to insects and animals that do the very same thing in nature every day and how nature basically inspires design.

Although we didn't go into extreme specifics with it in class, I really think that color association with mood is so interesting. I think it is such an important tool in design to understand how certain colors make people feel because it can impact so greatly their chances of making a purchase or even just looking at a poster/staying on a website longer. The fact that so many huge chain restaurants apply this principle to their design makes me feel like it is really worth something.

I enjoyed the videos this week.  It was interesting to see Michael Pritchard's water bottle design as I have heard of this before but never seen it in use.  It was also interesting to see McDonough talk about cradle to cradle before we start the book.  The biomimicry was an interesting video as well because you can see how it relates to a lot of disciplines in action now, but easy to see how it is a new look on design in general.  It will be interesting to see what the next assignment is about next week. 

Doctors ought to know what works and what doesn't and know how to monitor for poor effects. And I'd have to imagine most doctors are in it for altruistic purposes, since the average doctor is 40 something before they pay off student loans and begin to make money. But it's not the FDA's fault, entirely anyway. It's the fault of this whole nanny state system we've developed. Bad things are absolutely horrible and if we have to sacrifice good to prevent bad, we'd do so at the drop of a hat. At least we're not as bad as England with their stabproof knives and instashatter beer bottles, yet.

This past week has been very interesting.  The presentation on sustainable design and green design has struck a chord with me because as a industrial designer and mechanical engineer I must focus on how I can have an effect or lack there of on the environment through my design.

The video in class that I found most interesting was the concept of biomimicry. I honestly had never really thought how applicable it could be in everyday life. Because if you think about it, certain animals and plants have evolved over millions of years to become as efficient as they are today. Why wouldn't we study nature in order to gain solutions to many of the production issues we have today? So many ideas came to mind once I was formally introduced to this product. Such as, watrerproofing, bacteria resistant surfaces, self adhesive material, open/breathing material, etc. I loved all the concepts that were discussed in the video, and how creative many designers have been when problem solving everday issues.