Portfolio tutorial

Today I had a tutorial about my portfolio, I was in a group of four people. I found this tutorial quite interesting as I was able to see how other people have presented there work. Although the majority of people in my group showed a digital portfolio, where as mine was print based. The main aspect that I picked up on, was the way in which my portfolio portrayed my work. I noticed that the other students have photographed their work to take it out of context, this is a technique that I intend to use for my own portfolio as I feel that this makes the work look professional. As I haven't revisited my portfolio in a while, I realized that I have a lot of new work that needs to be applied to it, I also noticed that some of the current work in the portfolio needs touching up to make it look to a more professional standard. So I intend to work on

getting a digital and print version of my portfolio up to scratch during the next few weeks.

Kenya Hara (Umeda Clinic Signage System)

Developing from one of the ideas that I had for tourists to find it easier to navigate around cities, I have been looking at the use of signs. This is a great example from kenya Hara of how to use signs.

The Signage system was designed for the Umeda Hospital in western Japan. All of the signs are kept created using simplicity, the signs themselves are made from cloth, Hara states that the the reason for this choice is because he wanted to create a affable space. The clinic is a place where pregnant women and nursing mothers spend time before and after child birth.

Hara states that places meant for the sick or injured necessitate an atmosphere so tense that you could prick it with a pin.

The way Hara has used this signage system throughout this hospital is clearly innovative. By keeping the white cotton constantly clean clearly demonstrates the utmost hygiene to both visitors and patients.

Click HERE to see ted global data designer

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-07/22/the-man-who-turns-data-into-art.aspx

Hybrid buses

Whilst looking for inspiration for my project I came across the greenest double decker bus in the world. The B5L buses use a parallel hybrid I-SAM (Integrated Starter, Alternator, Motor) system created by Volvo. The system combines the power of an electric motor with a diesel engine. The only downside is that the bus can only reach up to 12 mph.

This is a great example creating a greener lifestyle for people as they have the option to travel on a bus that does not pollute the air.

Fold away light bulb

This fold away light bulb was designed by a New York based designer named Harc Lee. It's a credit card sized lamp that small enough to fit into your pocket. It is powered by an LED and watch-type battery that is embeded into the plastic.

I noticed this piece of design whilst looking for inspiration for my EMP, just to get start thinking about new/fresh ideas and concepts. I think that this is an innovative piece of design, that proves to be very useful.

A Korean scroll that prevents language mix ups

Whilst looking for inspiration for an idea for my EMP I came across this design which is a high-tech translation device. It's a roll out device which inside features a flexible touchscreen monitor. Users can either write directly on this surface and then choose the language they want to translate it to, or they can scan text under the screen thanks to a built in camera, using a finger to highlight certain phrases for translation. The designer are Soonkyu Jang, Taehee Woo, Yonghuk Yim and Chung Lee.

Paper thin speakers

I stumbled across this fascinating piece of design whilst looking at current products that are new and innovative. This product is like something I've never seen before. It's a 1mm thick flexible speaker. The product has been created using nanotechnology.

I have been looking at these kind of design to get my brain ticking so I can start thinking of ideas that haven't been done before.

This is another piece of cutting edge technology that I found

whilst researching to get some inspiration for an idea for my EMP.

It's a new discovery application Nokia, where you can point to an

object and take a photograph of it, then the device takes you to a

comparison website, this also works with brand names etc. I think

that this is a great piece of design and I have found really inspiring.

Rethink Schoarship

I came across this inspiring video whilst thinking for ideas for my project and felt that this innovative video explains the idea process perfectly. I came across the video on the 'Change the thought' blog.

Studio Makgill

Project Domu

This piece of design was created by a creative agency called Studio Makgill. It's a piece of promotional for a record artist called Domu (Dominic Stanton), the record label is called Tru Thoughts Recordings. After seeing this piece of design for the record artist it has made me consider creating my own record label for my EMP, this will allow me to design a variety of materials such as posters, CD covers, vinyl covers, stickers etc. I have a passion for music and branding so I feel that a project like this will be more than suitable for my Extended Major project.

Light Touch

Light Touch is an interactive projector that instantly transforms any flat surface into a touch screen. It frees multimedia content from the confines of the small screen, allowing users to interact with that content just as they do on their hand held devices – using multi-touch technology.

My first impression when I saw this piece of design was "WOW". This is the kind of product that really inspires me to think what can I design that will be the next big thing, in other words future scoping. How can i design a product that will change something, in this case it's changing the way in which we interact with a piece of technology. This is something that I will be taking into consideration during the study of my EMP.

Whilst thinking of a variety of ideas I have come to the conclusion that I would like to undertake a branding project, it's the area of design that I feel most interested in. After going out and looking for inspiration for the Extended Major Project I came across an idea that I feel works well. I have always been interested in branding because I feel that it is a clever area of design, I have always been fascinated to how brands target their consumer and how consumers relate to the brands. I myself like to purchase specific brands, just like we all do, and I find my shopping for products each day, it is part of life. We buy specific products for a reason, that reason is simply because we like them. My first initial idea for the Extended Major Project is to base my entire project around shopping, and relate this to branding, which is the area of design that I want to develop my knowledge as a designer to enter the industry when I have successfully completed BA Graphics.

Benjamin Bours

As I am still undecided whether to choose either branding or interactive design as the area that I opt to study to gain further knowledge throughout the Extended Major Project, I have decided to look at some pieces of work that relate to the areas that I am interested in. This particular piece of work was created by designer Benjamin Bours, it features an interactive system that has been applied to the Official NYC Information Centre. The system allows users to gather information about the city easily by choosing different areas that they want to know about through a touch screen system. I think that this is an innovative idea and i don't see why this could not be applied to all city around the world.

The time has come, it's the start of the big one 'The Extended Major Project'. The idea for this brief has to be focused, as this is a 13 week long project I intend to study an area of design that I am interested in. So I have began to think of the areas of graphic design that I am interested, and I can mention two key areas, branding and interactive design. In this final year as a student I have recently developed a passion for interactive design, this is from the recent D&AD project that I undertook. I know that these are the two areas of design that I am interested in, so I intend to create my project around one or if not both of these key areas.

I believe that their is a niche in the market for web designers, which is one of the key areas of design that I would like to enter. I feel that I have developed my knowledge of this area throughout the Specialist Practice unit, and also last year as I created an online portfolio. I would like to either enter this domain or enter the branding industry.