Color Displce

Refined B&W Displace

B&W Displace

Better design Interviews

Original product interview questions: Amy Burgess

Q. What do you like about this product? Dislike? I used it for my eye liner and it work well.

Q. If the design was more visually pleasing, would you me more convinced to buy it? Duh. Absolutely as insipid and silly as it sounds I would definitely. 

Q. What's more important, looks, comfort or functionality? Looks then comfort and then functionality

Q. If you could change one thing about this object, what would it be? I would have a tiny robot sharpening my sharpening my pencil and have him look like R2D2.

Q. What size is appropriate for this product? Bigger is better.

Prototype: Amy Burgess

Q: Is this prototype easier to use than the actual object? Yes.

Q: What are the pros and cons about this prototype? Not a robot but it is a shell.

Q: If you could change one thing about this prototype, what will it be? Make it a dinosaur

Original product interview questions: Lizzy Morin

Q. What do you like about this product? Dislike?  Dislike the tininess but likes the hardness.

Q. If the design was more visually pleasing, would you me more convinced to buy it? Absolutely

Q. What's more important, looks, comfort or functionality? Comfort, functionality, looks

Q. If you could change one thing about this object, what would it be? It needs to be bigger

Q. What size is appropriate for this product? A size that fits in my hand nicely

the ones i just asked my friend for the prototype: Lizzy Morin

Q: Is this prototype easier to use than the actual object? Yes.

Q: What are the pros and cons about this prototype? Pros: its visually appealing. Con: is does not have a catcher for the shavings.

Q: If you could change one thing about this prototype, what will it be? Make it bigger.

original product interview questions: Barbara Twarog

Q. What do you like about this product? Dislike? She would change the size. She said it's small which is harder for older hands to use

Q. If the design was more visually pleasing, would you me more convinced to buy it? a more visual pleasing design wouldn't make her more apt to buy it

Q. What's more important, looks, comfort or functionality? she ranked it in comfort, functionality, and looks

Q. If you could change one thing about this object, what would it be? she'd make it bigger

original product interview questions: Ryan Harmen

Q. What do you like about this product? Dislike?  Like: it is made out of metal which means it is durable. Dislike:  the size is not manageable because it is too small, not electric, no catcher for the shavings, and it is messy, not ergonomic

Q. If the design was more visually pleasing, would you me more convinced to buy it?  Yes.

Q. What's more important, looks, comfort or functionality? Functionality, comfort, looks

Q. If you could change one thing about this object, what would it be? size

Q. What size is appropriate for this product? Something easily held in your hand that is manageable

prototype: Ryan Harmen

Q: Is this prototype easier to use than the actual object? Yes.

Q: What are the pros and cons about this prototype? Pros: its better than the inadequate one I have now, Cons: the bigger size make it less portable

Q: If you could change one thing about this prototype, what will it be? Make it flatter and not as round so it is more mobile 

original product interview questions: Natalie Bragg

Q. What do you like about this product? Dislike? Like: the weight. Dislike: the size.

Q. If the design was more visually pleasing, would you me more convinced to buy it? Yes.

Q. What's more important, looks, comfort or functionality? Comfort looks then functionality

Q. If you could change one thing about this object, what would it be? The size

Q. What size is appropriate for this product? It should fit in the palm of your hand

prototype: Natalie Bragg

Q: Is this prototype easier to use than the actual object? No difference

Q: What are the pros and cons about this prototype? Pros: fit and feel in hand. Cons: looks too much like a shell

Q: If you could change one thing about this prototype, what will it be? The material. She would want it to be made of copper or something with color 

Illustrator Public Service Announcement

“Every year, unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation contribute to the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million children under the age of five,” Ms. Veneman said at the Tap Project event. The Tap Project is a campaign put on by UNICEF in order to bring awareness and support to this urgent issue of unsanitary drinking water. “Increasing access to clean and safe water will not only save young lives, it will also help bre ak the vicious circle of poverty,” Ms. Veneman concluded. For this reason, I decided to create a public service announcement that would bring awareness to this cause. My plan of attack was to aim straight for the viewer’s heart strings that are so conveniently wrapped around their purse strings. When my audience goes to purchase a new water bottle from their local convenience store they will be greeted by a poster covering the water bottle section. The poster’s contents are that of the same bottled water that awaits the consumer in the cooler; however, these bottles contain dirty water. This adjustment is intended to utilize pathos to make the convenience store customer think twice before putting their money into a water bottle when these children don’t even have clean tap water. 

The poster itself is a clean design with the simple arrangement of bottles on a cooler shelf. At the bottom of the poster there is a UNICEF logo along with a fact about the effect of the water crisis. It reads “Every year, unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation contribute to the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million children under the age of five.” This message from the Tap Project event is to the point and the image is not distracting from it. Using a poster as the medium this is particularly important so that the audience can see and interpret its meaning quickly without getting lost in visual or verbal clutter. This poster is meant to be placed on the glass door of a convenience store drink cooler. Its placement and location are key parts in its effectiveness. When properly aligned with the cooler’s shelves it should look as if the cooler contains these dirty water bottles instead of the clean ones. I was purposeful in choosing the medium of a poster and its advantage of quick communication for a convenience store campaign. These stores are built for speed and no hassle shopping. The patrons of such a store would be more receptive to a poster as an article or video.  

This was created in Illustrator with the utilization of Photoshop.  

My Photography

What is design?

I see design as a functional form of art. It is aesthetically based creation that happens to have a purpose. Design is a human invention that often mimics nature. The designer takes from what he knows and develops something completely new. This new creation can be anything. Much like art, design is not limited to one form. From advertisements to tooth brushes and from cars to furniture the possibilities are endless. Very often you may not even know a design when you see one. How many times have you thought about whom designed you scissors or what it took to do so? That one pair of scissors contains many hours of brainstorming, sketching, planning, testing and finally production. The curve of the handle and the size of the finger holes are both examples of the elements of design in that simple object. The purpose of a design is often time to create a solution to a problem. The designer originally looked at a pair of scissors and set out to improve upon the first design which resulted in your scissors. This is also an example of how design is innovation. It pushes the boundaries of what is already in place. Good design is the marriage of purpose and visually pleasing elements. That union is in essence the root of design.