01. Objectified: Response

Thoughts:

So going into this video, I knew little about design and the process that professional designers go through to make the everyday objects we use. Going through the video, I saw different takes and approaches to the design process as well as the meaning of design itself. What I found really interesting about this is how different designers can have different personalities, beliefs, approaches, etc. while successfully creating essentially the same products. Of course, this does create variety, which is better in most ways for us as consumers, but I do often find myself being more conservative when buying things with greater importance (in other words, sticking to what works) and being more permissive and willing to try out new things when it comes to things that are not as important. This is what got me thinking about the importance of design when it comes to one's interaction with an object.

Images:

Description:

Going through the video, I found that a lot of the objects were really compelling and had a story to tell. From the sleek design of Apple computers, Bill Moggridge's bulkier and more rigid magnesium computer, and even the redesigned, environmentally friendly toothbrush, the design that caught my attention the most was Naoto Fukasawa's mobile phone, inspired by the cut edges of a freshly cut potato. In his explanation of how he made the phone, Naoto mentions that the sensation he experienced as a child after peeling a potato and feeling the edges that the knife had formed was the inspiration for it. He then realized that he could recreate this sensation in the form of a mobile phone, which would enhance the feeling one would get while using the phone, therefore making people want to use their phones more. I also like how it fits into Tinkercad's blocky, simple, shape-based modeling experience. Knowing all of this, I decided to recreate the phone as best as I could while adding subtle changes such as the shape of the phone and placement of the buttons and screens, as the overarching goal was to create something similar enough to the actual phone while keeping the details simple, just like on an actual potato. Due to the limitations of Tinkercad, I did have a hard time trying to recreate the edges on the top half of the phone, but in the end, I was able to find some shapes that I turned into holes in order to get the edges I wanted. I also tried randomizing the different cuts on the phone to capture the arbitrary cut patterns on an actual potato.

Quote:

"Technology, and things you keep, things you love, things that get better with time." This quote spoke to me the most because it shows how much care and thought is put into our everyday products, even though we as consumers don't realize it.