I mentioned in one of my Fourth Year week summaries that I had done some more Top Gear work, and finally, the embargo set upon the images by Peugeot has been lifted, here is the finished thing, or a screenshot of it. If you would like a better look take a look on the Top Gear website and the two images illustrating the GTI were done about 2 weeks ago.
This is an every week occurrence so far this semester. I just can’t seem to find the right project direction, but I think I have something this time:
Using light and colour to try and improve (or remove dependance on) the way people use technology in the sleeping environment to ensure better quality sleep. The idea could be applied to other areas such as the office or driving (and the distractions technology may cause)
Another update to what I am doing with the Mclaren Blueprint. This time I am toying with the idea of making it like a technical drawing. I am still looking at doing the camera one which shows where cameras are usually located in racing games but I seem to have hit a dead end with that one at the moment.
This one was done very quickly using the raw ‘blueprint’ outline I got from the internet, if I took this one forward, I would go round the car in Illustrator as per my others:
Small update on the Mclaren, it is still a work in progress, and the idea is coming along nicely albeit a bit clunky…
Meanwhile the Mclaren I posted up last time is now my iMac desktop wallpaper.
A quick something that I have done, in preparation for another idea I am working on and have had for a while. Coincidentally, this has become another contender to be put on canvas…
A Mclaren Mk.II
The impending electronics drive is soon to start as soon as a soldering iron with a fine tip makes its way to me. Practicing PicAXE programming is the order of the day when it gets underway. One thing I would need for all this prototyping is wire, and to save it from getting tangled up in a big mess I made this… and I say made, all I did was make some holes in the plastic bit of this coffee jar and there you go, a wire dispenser.
The only thing I might end up doing is to make some baffles or rearrange the way in which the wire is wound just to keep them separate and not get tangled up, but for the time being it is very simple and works. What more do I need.
Finally, after a few months of avoiding using one of my lenses for my DSLR, because it was broken, I have replaced it.
Way back in November or December, whenever we had the thundersnow (I survived Dundee thunder-snowstorm 2010 haha) my basic kit lens for my Sony A200 effectively gave up. The autofocus stopped working which meant when I was using that lens on my camera, it would make funny noises whenever I switched it on and off. Eventually, as in a week or so ago it just jammed completely leaving it effectively as an 18mm prime lens. Not very convenient since I had spent most of the winter with just my 50mm prime on the camera instead
After a trip to the shop where the camera was bought not long after the lens gave up I was told to look on eBay or similar for an alternative as it would be cheaper than repairing it. I only just took up that advice and went hunting. Originally I tried looking for a like for like replacement, an 18-70mm zoom lens. After looking at ones which essentially had the same problem I had with mine, I settled for a tidy looking, used 18-55mm zoom lens which arrived the next day.
It is good to have a small zoom lens again. There have been a few times where I have needed one recently but had to make do with my 50mm. And because it cost very little, if it does break (which I’m hoping it doesn’t) it won’t cost much to replace.
Three weeks into this semester seems like an ideal time to talk about this modules project. After the shambles that was last semester, it is refreshing to be back on a project where you are not put under as much pressure. This should mean that the work produced should be better.
The project for this semester is based on ones set by D&AD for their student awards competition. We had a choice of 4 set by different companies who sponsor the competion:
Of the four briefs, I chose to do the one set by Michelin, as it was, in a way, about cars, which I like… very much…
Week 1: In the first week of the project, we sat down in groups, depending on the brief that we had chosen, and discussed the brief. What were they asking us to do? What sort of situation might you be in? Have we been in an accident or other roadside emergency ourselves? After this we were given a week to carry out as much research as we possibly could regarding the company and what sort of area we might like to focus on. I contacted a few roadside emergency services, such as the AA and the RAC asking numerous questions, from which I got no response*. A questionnaire was also constructed and posted somewhere where I knew I would get numerous responses and I was not disappointed. The results given were rich in information and provided a deep insight into what people thought. This along with masses of secondary research gave huge amounts to work with, which was useful for the following week.
Week 2: At the start of week two, we went into the groups once again and discussed what we found out. This then led onto the brainstorming of various different ideas to get us thinking. Different insights and scenarios were also thought of so the idea generation could be continued on as we saw fit. Group discussion over we were to go away and in the style that is synonymous with the product design course here, we were to come up with 100 ideas (which I don’t think is the most effective way of idea generation) for the following week, but this time in the format of an A0 sheet and not a sketchbook as this was thought to make the process easier. In fact it made it a little more awkward. I had the sheet stuck on my wall in my room, and was planning on recording it just to show the process of the 100 ideas but the time it took, eventually led me to scrap that idea after only a small amount of time recording.
Week 3: The 100 ideas were whittled down to 3 and the sheet was handed in. The three ideas (shown below) had to be decided and developed over the course of this next week. This along with a first draft of a scenario board had to be completed in the short space of time. As of this moment in time, I am quite far on in the development part and have pretty much completed the scenario board, which says how the product might be used by the user, and this is, as far as I am aware, at a further point that most other people on the course. The idea which was chosen after receiving feedback from a number of people, was the idea of a high visibility flag or flap which hangs down from the bootlid of a car. This would make the car and driver much more visible when they are broken down at the side of the road.
*The no response was in regard to that week that the research was needed. Today (February 4th, and well into week 3 of the project) I received an email from the RAC with their responses to my rather hastily put together questions, so thank you to them greatly, albeit a bit late.
Now that the semester has finished, I can get on and show you the main focus of my efforts this semester, my laptop bag.
The basic idea behind this bag, apart from it needing to be designed for myself, was that there are times when people do not have enough room to carry all that they are wanting to carry in their laptop bag. This left with the simple principle of making it modular. A main laptop bag was supplemented with a number of smaller bags in order to achieve what I was looking for. These smaller bags were attached to the main bag using belts or straps. This gave a very distinctive appearance.
Overall I am relatively happy with the outcome of the bag, but there are quite a few parts of it which I feel as though could have been carried out better. Anyways, here are the pictures.
