During the fifth class the design process was the topic. We talked about the methodologies and processes, which can be linear, cyclical, or branching. Then an overview of the design process was discussed, which includes problem definition & constraint, research, the design cycle, production, and evaluation & review.
I found the link on the blog from the fifth class interesting and funny because I always heard not to use comic sans, but never really knew why. After reading it, it seemed so obvious why and kind of comical that I never realized how much I've used the font inappropriately.
Prior to our class about design for accessibility, I never really gave much thought to how much designers can help disabled people. Some of the statistics were shocking, 28 million people had difficulty walking a quarter mile and climbing 10 stairs according to the 2000 census. Also, 18 million people reported having difficulty carrying a 10-pound bag of groceries or grasping small objects. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations should be available to all. A section of their act states, “Provide equally effective access to programs and services to individuals with disabilities in an integrated manner.” Further into the discussion Hopkins Hall was discussed regarding it’s accessibility for the disabled. It would be very difficult for someone with disabilities that has never been to the building before to figure out how to get in. The wheelchair ramp is on the opposite side of the building in comparison to the parking lot and the elevator isn’t much easier to find.
Later the topic of universal design was discussed. “Universal design is a theory that states products, services, and environments should be designed to include a broader range of the population including those with varying disabilities.” I found the Good Grips products to be one of the most interesting examples discussed. I’ve seen the Good Grips products many places and actually own some myself, but little did I know why they were designed in the first place. The designer’s wife was having issues using a can opener due to some loss of ability to use her hands. Instead of just opening the cans for her he decided to invent something to help her and soon after came the Good Grips products.
During the seventh class the scavenger hunt for assignment number three was the main focus.
Out of these four classes I found the class on environmental design the most intriguing. I think environmental design is especially relevant today and designers should be especially focused on it. Environmental design promotes sustainability, designing for the needs of today without compromising the future, and is design that is environmentally friendly. A great example of an environmental design is Grolsch’s beer bottles. The top seal and glass are both recyclable. By making the whole bottle recyclable they are reducing their amount of waste. Some other examples of environmental design we were shown were the recyclable Aeron Chair, 135 mpg Tesla Roadster, and chocolates with edible packaging.
During this class we were also shown a few videos involving environmental design. My favorite video was on Michael Pritchard’s Life Saver water filter. It was amazing to watch such filthy water be filtered into safe drinking water. With $8 billion the amount of people without safe drinking water could be cut in half and with $20 billion everyone could have access to safe drinking water. To put this in perspective Pritchard gives us the amount of money the English Government spent on foreign aid the past year, $12 billion. I think if we used our money a bit wiser and had the help of designers, such as Pritchard, we could solve many of the world’s major problems.
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