Design Sojourn

It is time for a long overdue update on my Spaces for Ideas Project. This time I like to share with you the brand that I am building for this product. I have always been a strong supporter of branding and this time around it is no different. Understanding the value of branding, motivated me to create a log that could communicate instantly what Spaces for Ideas was all about.

I started out speaking to a few graphic designers and branding houses, but due to cost issues and not having full clarity what I wanted, I decided to put the money into my product and carved out some time to really thinking about this brand. If I did not know what I wanted, budget was likely going to be wasted. However as I got deeper into it, I realized I was enjoying the process, and decided to take it all the way to the end.

So without further adieu please have a look at my brand development process after the jump. (Warning picture heavy, but image size managed). Oh by the way, I’m no typographer, so I would love to hear your feedback and ways I can improve the final design.

I started out with an objective of creating both a brand name and a brand icon. I saw naming and logo creation, as a combined activity as there was a chance that the name itself could become a logo. As with all of my design development activities, I often approach it from a commercial angle by establishing a marketing tagline or elevator pitch as part of my design brief. This gives me a good idea of what this logo or product has to stand for. (Top right)

I also like to anchor some basic descriptor keywords in my brief to further flesh out the design direction for the brand. I wanted Spaces for Ideas to be simple, clean, minimal (reflecting the product’s industrial design) and not look like the typical web 2.0 “chicklet”. I also wanted it to have, what I like to call, the “Fedex Arrow Effect”. This logo had to represent what the product stood for in a clever and but almost cheeky way. Before I forget, I also had to consider my functional constraints. This logo also has to be able to be de-bossed as well as fit the usual range marketing collaterals like name cards, with compliments slips etc.

After settling with “Spaces for Ideas” as a brand name I started to look at how the logo icon can succinctly represent that brand name. As you can see, some of my initial ideas stylizing how the sketchbook worked.

I took the most obvious route with this logo design. I needed to somehow represent a “space” with an icon. Easier said than done. A space is essentially that, a void filled with air. Taking up the challenge, I explored some ideas, where I cut up some font lines and used a human’s ability of “closure” to fill in the blanks. I soon settled on a concept that uses the interplay between positive and negative space.

I quickly mocked up the concept in Illustrator to see how it would look like in a controlled manner. I did like the paint lines very much, but this is not a design that is going to work de-bossed.

I realize, after playing around in Illustrator for a bit, I was stuck at a dead end. Also illustrator was not a program for me to design easily in, so back to the drawing board or sketchbook for that matter.

I continued to explore the meaning of “Space” with known representations like mountains and hills. Unfortunately all the concepts still lack the impact I desired.

Hey an empty box is a “space” to put stuff in right? I seriously considered using perspective lines to mark out a “space” before an object is drawn into it.

More box inspired concepts, this time with the words to represent lines. Ugly.

Even more boxes. I’m really struggling here!

I even experimented to cutting words horizontally in half. People only read the top half of the words anyway. Still this concept did not give me that Fedex effect I wanted.

I need to break out of this box thing. So I started to brainstorm other representations. A good one that I liked was how empty space was created between a bookshelf. (Bottom left) So Space is created between things. However, if I articulated a bookshelf as my logo would be just amateur work as it has little relation to my product. However liking the bookshelf concept very much, I parked the idea in the back of my mind and continued to explore.

As you can see, I’m still struggling to break away from boxes. I thought these box hole concepts might do the trick, but a box icon was a pretty common thing to find in logos. (I did some online research on the number of logos that had a box in it, and it was a lot!) Overall it’s still not good enough.

I finally realize that it might be near impossible to create a logo icon to represent “space”. So I went back to the tried and proven: Typography logos. That is when it hit me; the Bookshelf concept combined with typography produced a word with each letters representing a book.

I knew I finally got it. As with most solutions in design, you just know when you got it.

I wrapped up the concept phase by creating a definitive sketch of the design. This is something I also always do, as it catalogues one clear sketch to represent the concept or idea. Always as a precaution, it is also always a good idea to list the keywords from your design brief to make sure that the final logo matches your design objectives.

Time to select some fonts with the help of my keywords in my design brief. Also, I like to quickly thank a number of you who recommended font sites to visit on my Twitter stream.

I continued the refinement by picking a font and explored some placements. Slotting text in between other text has potential readability issues. So I really need to make sure I refine this direction well.

I selected the best potential arrangements and applied them 3 fonts that I short-listed.

So late one night, at 2.55am, I jumped out of bed with a solution to what I think is the best arrangement. This final layout (above) naturally aligns to how people read. “Spaces” is read left to right, and then “for ideas” read from top to bottom. If you notice, I went with a much cleaner font, even though I like to the first one I used that had “spaces” on each character. I felt that made the font look too busy and complicated.

All in all, I really enjoyed this brand creation process, and I hope you did to. I find it interesting, how much I could apply some of my Industrial Design methodologies, such as looking for insights to the natural behavior and expectations of people, to this logo exercise. I think understanding your process and the application of methodologies are key to success of any design, not just a logo design. Finally, as mentioned in the beginning of this post, look forward to hearing your comments and feedback.

Note: This editorial was written for Yanko Design (YD) in my capacity as Industry Consultant for that website. As there are some Design Sojourn readers don’t really frequent YD, it would make sense to republished the article here. Looking forward to all your comments.

It is with a hard heart that I write this post today. The Pocket Light by Hyun Jin Yoon and Eun Hak Lee (Ryan Harc), was stolen, produced and sold, unlicensed, under another brand. I do not condone such activities and urge all readers to boycott any fake Pocket Lights you may encounter.

Original Pocket Light

Fake Pocket Light

Moving forward, we could speculate 101 ways how and why Ryan Harc’s design was stolen, but ultimately it does not matter. What really matters is the fallout of such a situation, the impact of it on the designers and the design industry.

In many ways the Internet is a new medium when it comes to the management of intellectual property. Many designers are still struggling to reconcile its power of reach versus the need to control information flow. Here are some of my thoughts on how you can manage your creative content on the Internet.

1) Managing Expectations

Whenever a design is shown to the public there is a chance it could get ripped off. Design awards, graduation shows, public critiques, discussions with model makers, even obtaining costing for prototypes are all possible avenues where a design could get stolen.

The Internet is no different. In fact, because of the power of the Internet’s reach, the chance could be higher. However I do find it interesting that designers take more precautions showing work at graduation shows or manufacturers than on the Internet.

This being said, I have to say that the case of the copied Pocket Light happens rarely, especially if the stolen design was just a concept. The reason because the additional work required in taking a concept to an actual product requires far more effort than just coming up with an idea. In many cases it is very difficult to do if the designer that came up with the idea is not part of the development team.

That’s why people often tend to rip off finished products like LV bags or Vertu phones. All the hard work has already been done, all you need to do is just reverse engineer it. Oh, and there is that brand element as well.

So how or why did the Pocket Light get stolen? My guess is that it was “The Perfect Storm”. So happens that a manufacturer or a brand had access to all the right ingredients and be in a position to take up that idea and convert it quickly and easily into a product. In my opinion it was just sheer bad luck on the part of Ryan Harc.

2) So then why would anyone want to post his or her designs on the Internet?

There are actually a number of reasons, but the trick here is making sure you figure out “why?” before you do so.

The first and most common reason is credibility. Budding designers or design studios looking to make a name for themselves often share online self initiated design projects with the aim of getting their talent discovered.

If this were your objective, then getting a design copied would then fall in the realm of “imitation is the best form of flattery.” It is unfortunate, but consider milking it for all its worth.

The next reason designers publish designs online is that they are looking for a job. Most of the time these designs are portfolio work that have already been introduced in the market. However there are designers that would include personal design projects or submissions to design competitions hoping to show potential employers the breath of their talent.

The final last two reasons are closely link. That is, designers intending to sell a product or the rights to a design for production. If this is indeed your objective, you should ensure that you have taken the relevant intellectual property protection like patents or design registrations.

An important thing to note is that these 4 points are mutually exclusive. You cannot hope to “gain credibility” and also aim to “sell your design”. Both require different mindsets, and to combine the two is a recipe for disappointment.

3) So what can we do to protect ourselves?

I’m no expert on intellectual property, but by understand the gist of what it can do for you widens your options. Do research the details of Utility Patents, Design Registrations and Trademarks at your nearest Intellectual Property Office as soon as you can.

But for the purpose of this discussion, let us look at IP more from a strategic angle; is IP really needed for what you want to do?

An old employer of mine has this policy on patents. If an idea or invention could be licensed to another party for royalties, then it is worth taking the effort to get a patent. Why is this so? It makes perfect sense when you look at patents from a business point of view.

In certain cases the cost for a patent could come in at USD $30,000-50,000(for a worldwide coverage) or more. This does not include things like patent searches, legal fees and other incidentals. So if you look at it from an ROI (Return on Investment) perspective it just doesn’t not make sense. More so when you consider that most patents are applied on inventions before they are even launched or market proven.

I’m not saying don’t patent your idea. If you think you have a killer idea or invention, then you should really consider investing in a patent. The hard part is figuring out if the idea is really worth it.

Now this comes to the next part of the patent equation. Lets say you managed to pull together $30,000 and got yourself a patent. You now have peace of mind. You launch your product and it becomes a small success. The success is small enough that you don’t rest on your laurels but big enough for the rest of the world to take notice that it is now market proven. Soon cheap imitations start to flood the market while you are struggling to grow your business. The question now is do you have the financial muscle or just simply the willpower to enforce your patent?

Many inventors I have spoken to shared with me that patents are really just for a peace of mind. In certain cases they are useful, in other times, too much of a good thing. At the end of the day the decision is really yours but be aware of what it can do for you, and weigh the pros and cons of that hefty investment.

4) So what shall we do now?

Let me now share with you 4 suggestions on what I think designers can do, considering the landscape I have outlined above.

a) Share it, Get famous and Move on.
Most designers would fall under this category. So when you share designs, you do it to share and celebrate the cleverness of the idea. You may also do it for karma, and in the hope that by sharing, karma comes back to you as fame and maybe even fortune. But at the end of the day you are realistic, you expect nothing in return and quickly move on to the next big idea you come up with.

b) Make it, Share it, Sell it, and Get Out!
One thing about patents they never talk about is that it can be circumvented. There is no guarantee that someone will not takes your idea, modify it and sell it as a better alternative. So one way to play it is that if you think you have a good idea and want to capitalize on it; then a way to do it is to make your money and get out.

I planned my iPoor T-Shirt project with this strategy in mind. I knew the idea had merit, but with the product being a T-Shirt with a simple silkscreen graphic, I knew anyone could easily copy it. So I hatched a plan to make the iPoor T-Shirt in limited quantities and once it sold out, I’m out of the game. This strategy also forces you to ensure costs, margins and return on investment all work they way you want it.

c) Share it to Stake your Claim to the World.
I’m sure you can relate to my situation. I’m an employed designer, struggling to make ends meet, but I have ideas and some savings to invest in it. So how can I leverage on the power of the Internet to help me? I know I can’t afford a patent, so what do I do? I share it and stake my claim to the world, and if the design gets ripped off people will hopefully “do the right thing”.

My Spaces for Ideas Sketchbook is one such project, where by engaging my readers for feedback and getting them to be part of the development process, I hope to build a following of people that have a strong relationship with the product. Furthermore, by showing my process and prototype, there is no doubt as who came up with the idea first and when.

As a side note, the final design has not been revealed as it is in the process of getting a Design Registration. This is an alternative to a patent and not as expensive. Did I mention to Google Design Registrations?

d) Go under the Radar
My last suggestion does depend on the nature of your product, design or invention. Akin to much of the things you will find on Etsy, going “under the radar” means you build a design so niche, unusual to make, or not inline to existing standard processes that it becomes difficult to copy.

My Un-p3 Mp3 project was an experimental project aimed at exploring unusual manufacturing or creation processes with consumer electronics. A prominent design magazine in China was interested in showcasing this project, particularly on how I came up with the idea and built it. Needless to say I was not too keen.

—–

I’m sure there are many more strategies or things you can think of or do, for example creating a unique brand, but I think many of them are out of the reach of the small organizations or partnerships. Regardless I look forward to hearing your feedback and also any of your own ideas and suggestions you may have.

I like to leave you with a few closing words. Despite your best plans, and perhaps even a Patent, your designs or inventions are never 100% safe. It could get ripped off anywhere, even in your own design studio. But take heart with something someone once told me: People can copy our ideas, but they can never copy how we came up with them.

Here we are finally, pictures of my first prototype for the Spaces for Ideas sketchbook! But before I get ahead of myself, let me pick up from where I left of in the last post Spaces for Ideas: The Beginning.

If I know you clever reader, you would have realized 2 things about the first post. First, the post was fairly generic and second I did not really set out a concept direction I wanted to go for at the end of the post. The reason was because I wanted to build up a background story around my thought process.

So as a recap here are some of the key elements I think the ideal sketchbook should have.

1. A sketchbook that highlights the work and not itself
2. Well constructed and affordable
3. No spines getting in the way of cross page sketching
4. Just the right size but with enough space or room to play with
5. “Boundary-less” pages
6. Flexible enough to do what you will
7. Decent quality paper that takes all non-wet mediums like ink, pencil or markers.
8. Appeals to everyone, not just designers

Unfortunately, I’ve learnt very early in my career that if you threw everything you wanted into a product you just end up with a mess. Thus my quiet objective in our discussion in the first post was to really prioritize which elements were important and in what combinations should they be built in.

I decided that the first of my 7 sketchbook solutions (yes 7!) would focus on creating a sketchbook around point 4-6. After a lot of thinking, sketching, and working in an iterative manner, the “expandable” sketchbook concept was born. What really amazed me about my process was this concept eventually inspired the name for the entire brand collection: Spaces for Ideas.

So now, lets take a look at my first prototype, which was incidentally an EPIC FAIL! Heh-heh. Hmm maybe I should have built a better quick mockup? Make many mistakes, but make them early!

This A6 sized book is ah…way too thick. It contains 20 pages of good quality 100gsm bright white, lightly textured paper that is quite nice to write on. Furthermore the book’s A6 size in proportion to the thickness makes it feel more like a pocket dictionary or bible. Grab your nearest one and you will know what I mean. It is a beast!

Here is the trick of this concept; the A6 sketchbook unfolds out into a generous A3 page. The sketchbook’s binding solution was a bitch to work out, as the folded A3 sheet becomes a thick wad that is about 6-7 times thicker than a single sheet. So the 20 folded pages inflates itself into something like a 120 page sketchbook. While my Binder is not much of an origami expert (the page unfolded upside down), he managed to figure out how to stuff those thick wads of paper into a book!

Here is where the biggest problem lies. The 20 sheets of folded A3 paper creates a large “hump” under the first unfolded sheet. This really spoils the drawing/writing experience.

Well that’s all from me for this update on Spaces for Ideas. I think you can easily see from this prototype that there are a lot of obvious problems that needs to be solved. Therefore almost immediately after studying it, I went ahead to brief the Binder on what to refine. Luckily, they will happy to make me another prototype.

Just as a teaser, I actually have the final prototype right here in front of me and it is looking great. There is still a lot to do, so please bear with me? I will share the next update after I work out a few more issues like branding and logistics. As usual I look forward to your comments and please do keep in touch?

Edit 2: Check out the next installment of this project, Spaces for Ideas: The Brand.

At the end of last year I was planning to write a post that was something like “The Best Products of 2009″ or “The 2009 Product of the Year” or even “The Best Products of the Decade”. After asking my twitter friends and designers what they thought, and compiling their feedback and suggestions, I realize this did not make sense, as I was not in a position to actually trial enough products to make an accurate call.

Not only that, I realized that the Internet was littered with such product “Oscar Awards”. Unfazed, I decided to instead focus on something that is closer to the core focus of this site. Design strategy and direction.

At the same time while I was drafting the content of this post, I was contacted by the PR folks from Waggner Edstrom, and asked if I would be interested to take part as 1 of the 5 expert panelist in an event organized by HP + Microsoft called Future Is. They asked me if I would be interested to share what I thought the Future Is from the perspective of an industrial designer.

As with most weird cosmic convergences, I was more than happy to share, last Saturday, my 11 Design Strategies of the Next Decade on this public platform but I only managed to share 1 out of my 11 strategies during the panel discussion. However the sideshow above contains the full 11 strategies and thus you will get to read the entire presentation instead of being there.

Besides only having 5 minutes to present, the reason why the full slide presentation is published here was that HP would like to take this discussion online and engage the world’s budding design futurists. HP would like to hear your thoughts on what the Future Is to you?

Now to encourage you guys to stop lurking and start sharing, I am giving away a HP Mini 5101 for the best comment, which I will select. Comments from regular readers get extra brownie points! (Just Kidding)

If only it was that easy! The other 4 bloggers will also share their thoughts online and only the contributors of the best, most interesting and vibrant discussion will get a chance to win this giveaway! So do start writing, tweeting and passing the word around! But most of all I hope you will enjoy the article and the conversations that follow.

Disclaimer 1: It seems that if the judges pick this as the winning discussion, I get to win a HP Envy 15. So if you win, I win! As I’m in the market for a PC and I have kids to feed, this will really help me out! (Heh-heh no pressure!)

Disclaimer 2: I intentionally left Green out of the presentation as I consider Green is a basic “hygiene factor” i.e. a must do in the next decade.

Image by Rob Warde

Wow what a year 2009 was? We got hit right in the face by the economic down turn and designers all over the world were falling like flies as companies cut R&D or design budgets in response to a drop in consumer spending.

While we all tighten our belts and expected the worst, I saw 2009 as a humongous opportunity to position a brand, company and even ourselves, so that we can be well prepared for the recovery and be miles ahead of the competition.

Being a glass half full kind of guy, I was sort of glad that 2009 happened. 2009 got us to sit up and reconsider our spending habits, almost managed to purge the world of dodgy finance, and in a spectacular Darwinian fashion only the fittest company survived. However despite this, I’m glad 2009 is over and am really looking forward to flying start in 2010.

I’m sure you are equally well positioned to leverage on this so called “V” shaped recession/recovery, because you are reading this post or have been following this blog! If you have been walking this learning journey with me you would likely be as ready as I am!

With that, let me share my 5 things I wish for in 2010:

1) Another brand becomes synonymous with design and innovation like Apple

Apple has done a fantastic job since the maestro Steve Jobs retook the helm as CEO. Their design-focused organization reaped the rewards of their effort by turning in a fantastic profit even during a recession.

However, while Apple is the king of the hill in design and innovation, I am keen to see another company, not necessary a competitor, be considered an equal peer to Apple. Dyson or Oakley probably comes close, but considering Apple’s dedicated fan base and universal appeal, they still lack behind.

It’s really not that difficult to build a design focused organization and everyone seems to know what to do. But organizations will still struggle as long as design is seen as “one” of the processes. Design needs to be part of a cultural mindset and something that has to be entrenched in the DNA of the organization before “it” can happen.

2) Design Thinking moves to a higher level of credibility and trust

I sincerely hope that in 2010, Design Thinking really sorts itself out. The competence gets defined properly, practitioners suitably qualified, and the results justify its investment. In other words Design Thinking really becomes a means to an end.

Furthermore, I like to see more designers get involved in Design Thinking, picking up the skills necessary to bridge the gap. In my mind Design and Design Thinking are two sides of the same coin. Therefore I believe designers are best suited to grow and be part of this competence as they have the right foundation anyway. What they need is to pick up the right skills to communicate what they have been trained for.

Eventually I see this as a great career opportunity for designers, especially if Design Thinking moves into organizations that do not traditionally hire designers. It means more work for all of us!

3) Brands realize that people are not stupid

Businesses have always known this but somehow live in denial. They continue to deliver product propositions that don’t make sense. With the Internet allowing both wide and in depth access to information; brands and businesses have to realize that you can no longer expect to “sell ice to an eskimo”.

This fact was brought into sharp relieve in 2009 when the cash strapped, informed and savvy consumer only bought products that made sense or are the best their money can buy. Again it’s survival of the fittest, Apple turned a profit and Dell tanked.

4) People grow immune to consumerism

Conversely, consumers need to adopt more sustainable behaviors and better manage their consumption habits. To a certain extent, businesses that flood the market with product dribble can still get away with this, as there are consumers that are still buy said dribble. When there is a willing buyer, there will always be a willing seller.

I was appalled during this Christmas season at the number of shops flogging, for the lack of a better word, crap. On sale were cigarette lighters crossed with Swiss army knives, head bobbing figurines, phone charms, color changing light pipes, 1001+ pouches for all occasions, digital clocks, FM radio statues and teddy bears at the end of a pens etc. To top it off this “marketplace” was the busiest and noisiest place in the entire mall.

Really do we really need all this stuff?

5) Sustainability becomes part of the brief

I’ll be straight with all of you. We can easily create sustainable products. So why don’t we do it more frequently? Because it requires additional (in fact a lot of) time and effort to ensure all the factors are in place to make a product sustainable.

So in the hum drum of daily business financials, cost management, and shorter product lead times; sustainable discussions often fall by the way side. Compounded by the inertia of large organizations, moving towards sustainable product solutions will be a slow process indeed.

However I believe we can get more than half way there if sustainability is made part of the product brief. The other half would be motivation. I sincerely hope that sustainability becomes a habit, but it is still a very tough discussion. As off right now, sustainability does not gel with economics.

But we will need to persevere for our children’s sake. When we can get more people to be part of the solution, sustainability in products will be easier to implement. When sustainability finally moves to a critical mass, it will then take off, as economics of scale will now be our friend.

———-

Well that’s my 5 wishes for 2010, a year that I can’t wait for, as I expect it to be really exciting! What about you? What do you hope or wish for yourself, career, design profession or industry? I look forward to hearing from you!

After using my Moleskine for almost a year, I realized what I thought was the world’s best sketchbook was not even close.

The cover often bends out of shape, the spine makes my pages shift like a deck of cards, and it contains pages so incredibly thin that pretty much everything goes through it. While no sketchbook is perfect, I believe my fairly harsh critique was influenced by price and marketing/branding of a Moleskine. In other words, I expected something better considering how much I paid for it!

This got me thinking: “Yes, while no sketchbook is perfect, just what did I not like about the Moleskine or even sketchbooks in general”?

I thought about all the problems I had with sketchbooks, and after that made a list of key points of what I thought my dream sketchbook would be like. And like a typical designer, I knew from that moment I could design one that was better. I hope!

1. A sketchbook that highlights the work and not itself
2. Well constructed and affordable
3. No spines getting in the way of cross page sketching
4. Just the right size but with enough space or room to play with
5. “Boundary-less” pages
6. Flexible enough to do what you will
7. Decent quality paper that takes all non-wet mediums like ink, pencil or markers.
8. Appeals to everyone, not just designers

I started, like I do with all design problems, sketching out my ideas and possible solutions.

At the same time I worked my sketches, I went out to do research as well as contacted a Printer/Bookbinder. I also knew I had a new “language” I needed to learn, and the Printer was a great help! I also went out to bookstores and art shops (even Muji) and bought a number of sketchbooks that had elements of the look or construction I wanted in my design.

I finally settled on a couple of directions, and practicing what I preach, I quickly built a mockup (top left in the picture above) over a weekend. I actually took a video of it, but I’m not sure if showing it will give you the right impression of the design as it was really rough. But for personal consumption, any quick and rough mockup the better as it got me going and better understanding the problem.

Frequent visits to the Printer/Bookbinder really helped, as she showed me the ropes, taught me the “language” they used and the in’s and out’s of bookbinding. I’ve only scratched the surface, but I’ve learnt a lot. In design it is always good to be really close to where the product is made. I’ve changed the design so many times after learning about the manufacturing constraints and seeing so many other options I could use (see a samples above). In fact many things I thought I knew about printing and bookbinding were actually myths.

Finally, after a lot of exploration, testing, discussion and brainstorming with fellow designers, friends and family: “Spaces for Ideas” was born! While we are talking about sketchbooks here, “thinking big” pushed me to envisioned Spaces for Ideas far beyond just sketchbooks. I won’t share everything here today, but I like to say that I’m really inspired by this brand name as it’s very apt don’t you think? I’ve even bought www.spacesforideas.com!

Well do stay tuned, as I’ll be in touch with a blog post of the actual prototype of the design I’ve decided to develop in the next week or so. I’m sure you can pick up clues in this post, but I would like to keep it as a surprise for you for next time. Meanwhile, do leave me your thoughts and feedback, as I love to hear what you think?

Edit 1: The next installment of Spaces for Ideas: The First Prototype is up! Check it out here.

Edit 2: Check out the third installment of this project, Spaces for Ideas: The Brand.

Just for this week only, we bring you our next podcast hot on the heels of our first. In this discussion Feng and I chatted about Entertainment Design and how much more work is required when you are designing a world rather than a product. Watch out for the key take away of this podcast, where we talk about designers needing to be sensitive to visual cues so that their creations are believable.

To celebrate this podcast series as well as The Entertainment Design Masters Showcase, FZD School of Design has generously offered all Design Sojourn readers a 20% discount off the entry fee!

The thing I’m looking forward to the most, is the 4 hour (in total, 1 hour each) design/sketch demo session by the Design Masters. I hope to pick up awesome tips I can use to improve my own sketching and rendering ability. How often do you get a chance to observe the work flow of the Design Masters responsible for the design in movies like Avatar and Transformers?

“Just as a sketch can still convey an idea without being fully rendered, a 3D artist can also use their toolsets to block-out a designer’s 2D concepts in order to explore a design’s form and function. In this presentation I will discuss this process and the diverse range of tools that I regularly use including Photoshop, Zbrush and Maya.” – Alex Alvarez

So if you are in Singapore, do sign up ASAP as seats are running out quick! Don’t forget to quote the discount code: “Design Sojourn” when you sign up to get that 20%. For more details of the event do visit the official Entertainment Design Masters Showcase site.

Disclaimer: Just in case you are wondering, I’m not getting paid for this. I’m just helping out a friend.

We had such a good response to the podcasts published during the Icsid world design congress, that I think I might turn this into a regular thing. The podcast will be published either weekly or bi-weekly, we have not decided.

You might also have noticed that its “we” in this equation and not I, because the podcast series will be jointly created with non-other than Feng Zhu! Do enjoy and we love to hear your feedback and comments.

This article was originally written for Yanko Design (YD). As there are some Design Sojourn readers don’t really frequent YD, I thought it would make sense to republished the article here. Looking forward to all your comments.

Photo by: Pat Law

One skill many designers should often work on is presentation. Designers of all levels can always benefit from a little more jazz in their presentations.

Don’t know about you guys, but imagining my audience naked never worked for me! The thing to note about presentations is that it is not just about standing up in front of an audience or spending nights rehearsing, presentations are really all about communication. It is about getting your point across in a clear and concise manner.

Here are a few tips that can help improve your technique and hopefully also make you a much better communicator.

1. Stand
Depending on the size of the audience or even the size of the room, it is a lot more impressive if the presenter stands. It denotes expertise, authority and shows your audience that you take the presentation seriously. Even in design critiques with small groups of designers, standing makes a difference.

Another thing I really like about standing is that it allows you to be closer to the screen or focal object. While you are there, you can take the opportunity to point directly onto the screen to highlight points. Being that close to the content makes you a lot more engaging.

That being said, try your best to avoid those laser pointers. It sometimes comes across as cold and may alienate your audience. If you need to point at a large screen and you are not tall enough, walk towards the projector source and make a “shadow puppet” with your finger.

2. Eye Contact
Good eye contact is one of the most important things to in a presentation. It engages the audience by allowing them to feel as if you are talking to them and not to your note cards or the floor. It also allows you to control the flow of the presentation by judging their reactions or responses.

Though important, this is also one of the hardest things to do and requires a lot of practice. One trick I’ve learned to help the discomfort is to look between someone’s eyes or focus on one eye rather than both. The worst case is to look over the top of the audiences’ head and below especially if there are women in the audience!

3. Know your content
Nothing breaks the flow of a presentation like a presenter that does not know their stuff. Two things happen as a result. The presenter either hems and haws or drones on and on. Get to know your content well and become the expert.

4. One slide per point
When creating or constructing your presentation, try to keep your slides succinct. I will often go as far as using one slide per discussion point. Oh by the way, please “design” your PowerPoint background and type? We are designers after all.

5. Use stories to engage your audience
Instead of telling jokes to break the ice, one thing I like to do is to elaborate key points by telling stories that put the audience right in the action. It is also a good way to break the flow of technical segments or if you sense that you are losing their attention.

6. Style
Here is one element that will go along way in making your presentation memorable. Give your presentation a dash of style, your style preferred. I like a simple casual style, like positioning myself closer to the audience, sitting on the table or stage, or not using a microphone. Some presenters don’t use slides but only images, some use their hands a lot. I’m sure you can come up with something interesting that you would be comfortable with.

7. Speak slower and clearly
Sometimes we forget that the delivery of the presentation is also just as important. I have found that if you dial down the rate of your speech and focus on clarity, you will make a much better impact. It also helps you to think, as sometimes people tend to speak faster than they think. Another thing to note is the sound of your voice. If your voice is naturally high pitched – try slightly deepening it. The best way to find out is to record your voice and listen.

8. Timing and Pacing
A presentation running on a good rhythm has good timing and pacing. Be fully aware of the time you are taking at different intervals of your presentations and spend more or less time depending on the impact you want to create. Mixing it all up also helps manage monotony. Also take note of the total presentation time you have and plan your delivery accordingly.

Decide upfront if you want to be interrupted during the presentation or to leave questions to the end. If you can think on your feet then it does get audience participation up. If you are not that confident, do announce to the audience that you will only be taking questions at the end. This brings us to the next point.

9. Anticipate the questions
It does help calm the nerves; if you anticipate all the possible questions your audience may ask you during your presentation. It is also great for credibility.

10. Practice
Finally practice, practice and practice! Take the effort to rehearse either privately, in front of a mirror or with your team. If you don’t have the time, I find it useful to run the entire presentation in your head and visualize your lines. At the end of the day though nothing beats real practice.

Day 3 continues with a number of equally interesting presentations. Unfortunately I did not get an opportunity to sit through all the presentations as I had to take a break from the congress for some work related activities. However I will share what I manage to note down.

William Halal presented his methodology from his tech forecasting activities and shares a number of interesting predictions. At first I was concerned that Thomas Heatherwick was just going do a typical boring portfolio presentation, he instead inspired all with us with his wonderful design philosophy and inspiring design work. Feng Zhu ran an Hollywood inspired, fast paced presentation that show cased not only Entertainment 2050 but his design thinking as well. Again, like the previous summary articles, here are the highlights:

William Halal: Understanding the Technology Revolution
1) No forecasting method is 100% accurate.
2) Knowledge is a key ingredient of innovation, where innovation impacts I.T.
3) The cost of solar power will match the cost of oil in 3-5 years. It will finally then take off in popularity!
4) A.I. replaces routine mental work in about 2021. Humans will recognize what is unique to be human, like the ability to be spiritual etc.
5) Therefore one of the greatest discoveries of our time will be that humans discover that there things that machines cannot do.
6) E-commerce will move to 30% adoption levels about 2015
7) 30% of medical care will be via tele-medicine by 2014.
8) 2020: Sustainability problem will be solved. We will have mastery over life, intelligence and beyond. This will result in a crisis of maturity and a evolution of global consciousness.

Thomas Heatherwick: Now. In general there were not too many quotable quotes but instead a refreshing show of beautiful buildings and structures that made it look like 2050 has arrived.

1) Let’s talk about aesthetics…
2) Shares a project at the Shanghai World Expo next year: A seed cathedral made from the seeds from the millennium seed bank. (Google it as my words will do it no justice.)
3) The creative step is in the brief that we get, or the brief we set ourselves. Not the designing bit.
4) Great presentation by Thomas Heatherwick : he concluded with a toilet with a living hinge door! (It is a reflection that a great design has details that are also inspired by the overall concept.)

Feng Zhu: Entertainment 2050
1) I don’t really work in 2050, I work 1000 years in the future!
2) Goes back to his product design roots for look at Entertainment 2050.
3) No matter what, people’s basic needs will not change. Showing off, love, shelter etc. It is likely that many things won’t change.
4) Micro payment will be big. Ad posters will be made of digital paper, and will reward consumers for looking at it.
5) Movies will run on a subscription model and accessible from all your devices, PC/TV/Phone etc.
6) Gaming will be much of the same. Graphics will be cooler but the enjoyment factor will be similar.
7) Gaming will have eye tracking features, so the game can throw challenges in areas that you are not looking at.
8) Your friends on social networks will continue to be your main gaming partners, but it will expand into many platforms not just Facebook.
9) Computer screens will not get much bigger as there is only so much real-estate we can visually handle. But resolution will be super high.
10) Despite touch screens, computer mice will still be a big input device.
11) Desktop manufacturing will be big. For example a racing game will allow you to buy a 3D model of your winning car and make your own real world model to keep.
12) Me: I like how Feng Zhu draws over photos. Its brings in a realistic elements to a sketch. Product designers can learn this to represent sketches in real world environments.
13) Personal Storage system (USB sticks): very evolve and become isolated protected silos of data. It will contain all the OS and information you require and is able to access the data via sliding it into a shell PC.
14) All devices will be interconnected and have similar processing power despite its physical size. (In other words, physical size of a product will be a result of consumer focused needs rather than a reflection of processing power)
15) We will be able to play many games in one go, switching from windows to windows. (Processing power will be strong enough for this.)
16) Portable gaming will be big and self-aware. It will be location-aware so that it can times your games in context to match your location/destination.
17) Portable gaming will have focused sound cone technology so only the player can hear the sound and not his neightbours.
18) Expect a customer created environment that consists 100% always on live feeds. Advances in mini cameras and fast/cheap broadband will allow people to watch your dog or your baby any time, all the time.
19) Stores advertising will be customized. It will take a 3D photo of you and offer you new clothes mapped over your body shape.
20) E-magazines instead of Paper. With a subscription based model.
21) Wikipedia will have augmented reality interface, where it automatically loads up location information through a HUD.
22) Products will be about consumers wanting it than marketers pushing it. (Anyone can say iPhone?)

Unfortunately I missed out Bill Mitchell: Reinventing the Automobile 2050, and Foster and Partners: Sustainable Cities 2050. However I did manage to come back in time for the panel discussion.
1) Feng Zhu: Computers have not made us smarter, they have, perhaps, made us dumber.
2) The future will be how do we manage (digital) knowledge movement rather than (physical) people movement?
3) Feng Zhu: At the end of the day people want something in return. Nobody does things for free. If this is the case how can we hope to create a utopian society for the common good together?
4) We already know what we need to do. It is now about the how? Design should always be part of something bigger.
5) There is evidence that people are willing to give things for free. Feng Zhu: However it is proven that user creation is pure chaos. How do we then exercise control?
6) How do we build thought leadership? Design brought into education at an early age. Feng Zhu: design should be made into a viable career.
7) So are we capable of policing ourselves? Is it possible to change ourselves and create a better way?
8) If we can’t get control of ourselves what future do we have?
9) Design awards are a useful education tool for the public on what is good design. But what about the judges? How do we judge the judges?
10) Feng zhu: Why not let public decide on what is a good design. Otherwise it is designers just voting on their own designs.
11) Thomas: Design awards have no public profile. Awards are only good for making the organizers a lot of money, and motivating designers and clients.
12) Can we get the public to do design?
13) Thomas: I don’t think so. Clients want us (designers) to do our best work not pander to their needs. (Otherwise what use are we?)

The following comments are an audience response to question open to the floor and on twitter: “What are your thoughts of the world in 2050”?
1) Consumerism is dead.
2) Keep information open sourced for all of us to share and learn.
3) Humans are very good at solving problems.
4) Where do we come from and where do we go?
5) I’m afraid I might miss this exciting time! (in 2050)
6) Brucenussbaum: Icsid is ending now split between practical Singaporeans and Utopian designers.
7) Designers are problem solvers. Want a good 2050? Let’s start in 2 months, in 2010.
8) This (2050) is not going to happen unless we consider the people that earn $2 a day or where life is cheap.
9) @brucenussbaum: Emily Polliton and Stefano Marzano held as best presenters by Israeli audience looking for design relevance at Icsid.

That’s all for the congress content, however going forward Design 2050 studios will live on. Firstly it will be turned into a documentary in 2010 and then eventually into a system and opportunity for everyone to be involved in the conversation.

Do u want to wait for the future to happen, or go out to happen to the future? Come all to join the conversation at www.design-2050.groupsite.com. See you there and thanks for following!