IDSA@SFSU

ID Sketching: Toolbox

2009-10-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

In author Spencer Nugent's latest addition to the ID Sketching Toolbox, he covers different types of sketching, their uses and when they should be used. Definitely worth a read!

Toolbox: Levels of Sketching

Design Film Series, Thu Oct 29th, 7PM

2009-10-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

SFSU AIGA and IDSA present Design Film Night on Thu, Oct. 29 at 7pm in FA 193. We will be showing 'Bass on Titles' and 'View from the People Wall.' This is a free event open to all students.

IDSA SF Curated Studio Tour Videos

2009-10-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

IDSA-SF has introduced a new series of videos that are from their curated studio visits. These videos give us a peek into who the studios are, what they're about & what they do. IDSA-SF states that the goal of these visits is to:

"take the visit a step further and create a forum which allows a studio to show off that singular talent or practice that makes it unique."

These videos are a chance to get valuable insight into local studios otherwise unavailable, even if you can't make it to the visit in person.

IDSA-SF Studio Exploration Videos

New Creative Search Aggregator

2009-10-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

D&AD Creative Search is a "Winners Resource" for the 2010 D&AD Student Awards 30 Day Challenge. It is a search aggregator that collects results from a myriad of sites like Google, Flikr, YouTube, Wikipedia & many more. It was set up as a tool for creative individuals to use to for research and inspiration and is extremely useful.

The 2010 D&AD Student Awards cover a range of disciplines including advertising, graphic design, craft, integrated communication, product design & includes open briefs as well. D&AD states that "Over 43% of our winners walk into work in under a month".

This is a great tool paired with a great student awards programme, check them out!

creativesear.ch (via Core77) & D&AD Student Awards

Digital Sketching Demo

2009-10-06T00:16:00.000-07:00

For our next meeting, on Wednesday, 1-2PM in FA 163, we will be holding our first demo session of the year.

Digital Sketching: A Tablet (PC) Primer in Design

No longer can it be considered the future of Industrial Design, because the pros are already on top of these skills. So if you haven’t experienced it yet, then it’s about time you finally did!

I will be the one performing the demo, and will be giving a brief overview of techniques that have made my life easier over the past few years. Come with questions, bring a friend, and share your experiences!

Best,
Eugene Wong

Fall 09' Urban Shed Design Competition

2009-09-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
If you were at the meeting today you saw the competition our IDSA Student Chapter is going to participate in this semester, if not please check out the website below. We will be collaborating on a new design for a New York City building scaffolding system, working together throughout the semester to meet the deadline December 14. This will be a great experience for both Product and Vis Comm majors getting to work as a team and learn from each other and we welcome anyone interested in joining the team. If you have not signed up yet and would like to be a part of it please let either myself or Eugene know and stop by our next meeting, Wednesday September 23 at 1:00.
Cheers

Urban Shed Design Competition
http://www.urbanshed.org/index.html

sticky

2009-09-01T23:52:00.000-07:00

IDSA SF Starts Work On Curated Studio Tours!

2009-04-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

IDSA SF is going to begin a series of curated studio tours that will focus on what makes each studio unique and powerful. This should be a great opportunity for all Bay Area IDSA members!

"Starting this month, IDSASF is gearing up for a new series of curated studio visits. Our goal is to take the visit a step further and create a forum which allows a studio to show off that singular talent or practice that makes it unique. Our mission is to work with studios to prepare a short presentation or discussion during the visit which highlights new intelligence or a unique practice that weaves its way through the work or culture of that studio."

via IDSA SF

Portfolio Nite Wrap Up

2009-03-21T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hey IDSAers,

First, a BIG thanks to all who participated in our Spring 2009 edition of the DAI Alumni Portfolio Nite, especially our guest alumni presenters/reviewers. Also, a specific BIG thanks to Prof. Ricardo Gomes!

I thought I would share some of my notes from the evening, both to initiate discussion amongst any of you who may have attended (and check this blog) and for those who missed out:

1. Pictured above is Jeff Sand, alum and product designer. He had quite an exciting presentation of his product design portfolio as well as a concise and fairly compelling narrative of his design process and employment history.

I was surprised (and excited) when Jeff described a common design scenario (for him at least) where he would have just two weeks to develop a concept starting with sketches, then surfaces, and then the pitch to the client. "Two weeks"?? I saw this as great news, because given the rapid approach of both the Spring Mixer (April 2nd) and the Western District Conference (April 24-26) this means that in theory, we could all develop our ideas at a professional level (or at least an approximation of one).

In reference to living with a fellow creative professional (his wife is an architect) Jeff said, "We design because we love design, not because it's a great living."

2. I lucked out and managed to land a quick portfolio review from Arvind Gupta, about three minutes before the review period ended. Arvind's quick and valuable feedback went something like this:

"You've got some product here and some process shots, but I'm not seeing how any of this is relevant to me. People basically trade cash for benefits. So communicate what is the benefit to me, and do it with pictures because no one wants to read."

Thanks, Arvind! I will definitely take this to heart.

3. The evening wrapped up with a panel discussion with almost all of our guest alumni on stage.

In response to the question "what human qualities do hiring professionals look for?" Arvind replied that people want to hire someone that they would want to hang out with. Considering how consuming design work can be, this makes a lot of sense to me. If you are going to "live" design (both at home and the office), you want to work with people you can "live" with.

Another valuable comment came from former IDSA SFSU President/Chair, Kristrun Hjartar. She said, "it is so important that you do more than just your [design] homework. You cannot just do your homework! I cannot emphasize this point enough!"

I heartily agree.

And lastly, more words from Jeff Sand. When approaching a job interview, prepare an answer to this question, "how am I going to deliver what this person needs." If you can communicate this, it is hard to say "no" to hiring you.

Sweet concept presentations on Yanko

2009-03-20T00:49:00.000-07:00

Yanko Design has posted some really sweet concept designs.

The first is a lifeguard stand/rescue device:

The second is a translator based on images!

Yanko Design has more images and informatio on the projects respectively:

Lifegaurd thingy

Translator thingy

IDsketching.com's Spencer Nugent Interview

2009-03-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting short interview with Spencer Nugent that was put together for davidson.com/creators. It's a cool format He's sketching a camera while talking!

Spencer Nugent Interview from Industrial Design Sketching on Vimeo.

Via IDsketching

IDSA@SFSU: Portfolio Nite 2009 - Program Schedule

2009-03-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

IDSA@SFSU: Portfolio Nite 2009 - Program Schedule

Product Design Forums releases new rescource!

2009-03-09T23:18:00.000-07:00

Product Design Hub beta. It's name is what it is, it's a resource that acts as a hub for all things design; articles, videos, tutorials, blog, forum, job posting, directory, and competitions!

check it out!!

Product Design Hub

DAI Portfolio Nite - Thursday, March 19th, 6-9pm, Jack Adams Hall

2009-03-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

Hey IDSAers,

Here is the latest schedule for Portfolio Nite. There are just two weeks left to prepare. Please comment with any thoughts, questions, or suggestions:

The DAI Portfolio Nite will take place from 5:30 - 9:00 PM, Thursday, March 19th in Jack Adams Hall in the Cesar Chavez Student Center at SFSU.

PORTFOLIO NITE PROGRAM SCHEDULE:

5:30 Refreshments

6:00 Welcoming Remarks: Ricardo Gomes, Chair
Mariko Hingston, SFSU Career Center

6:10 DAI Alumni Presenters Intro:

* Tiffany Norlock, Interactive Producer for Walmart.com

* Clay Haller, Product Design Director, Advance Elements

* Asya Soloian, Creative Coordinator, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

* Jeff Sand, Founder/President, Jeff Sand Product Development

* Chris Fong, SF Chronicle, Publication Designer

* Caroline Chu, Founder/CEO, Caroline Chu Cosmetics Inc. (former Creative Director, NVidia)

* Bill Seidel, President/CEO, America Invents

6:20 Alumni Panelist Presentation (10 -15 minutes)

8:00 Open Portfolio "Break Out": Open(informal) Portfolio Break Out session with the DAI students, Alumni Presenters and Guest DAI Alumni Reviewers

Additional DAI Alumni Reviewers:

* Charles Floyd, AbsolutelyNew Director- Design Services

* Joanna Lee, Production Manager, Brand Communiction Design Consultant

* Joward Pascual, Interactive Designer, Apple Inc.

* Marilyn McLaughlin, MLEE Designs, San Francisco

8:30 Guest Alumni Reviewers and Alumni Presenters Portfolio Panel Discussion: Panel summary feedback/comments of Student Portfolios, and audience questions to Alumni Panel

9:00 Conclusion

41,000 LED lit tunnel is reminds me I'll never get to travel at light speed

2009-02-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

This is probably the closest I'll ever get to light speed, but in a good way! This thing, named Multiverse, was installed by artist Leo Villareal inside of a 200' long tunnel inside the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. It's going to be on display throughout 2009 and animated and moves on it's own using a randomness algorithm to make sure it's different every time you see it.

via Gizmodo via PSFK

Mondrianum Color Picker

2009-02-25T12:11:00.000-08:00

This thing is amazing! It's a totally rad way to pick a color scheme inside any OS X application that runs on cocoa! The color schemes are accessed from the Adobe Kuler website so you need an internet connection to get to them but, they can be saved offline once you've accessed them! check it out!

Mondrianum(Via Lifehacker via switching to mac)

Ex-Bugatti Designer, Daniel Simon, Now Tron 2 Vehicle Designer

2009-02-25T11:59:00.000-08:00

This dude has some seriously awesome vehicle concept skills. You can check out his blog for newer concepts, or buy his book for a mere $19.77! It's not much for so many great concepts.
You can also see

via Core77 via io9

IDSA Webinar

2009-02-18T15:05:00.000-08:00

For those of you in the know, IDSA national has setup a FREE webinar, the 1st of a three-part series on sketching, hosted by Thomas Maguire.

Registration for the webinar can be found here.

Thank you IDSA and Thomas Maguire!

p.s. The 1st session is starting RIGHT NOW... sorry for the late post.

Kickoff Meeting - Wednesday, Feb 18th, 1-2pm FA 163

2009-02-15T23:30:00.000-08:00

SENZ XL Storm Umbrella, IDEA Gold winner, 2008. Image provided by IDSA via BusinessWeek

Hey IDSAers (and guests),

It is time to officially get the design gears churning at our First IDSA SFSU Meeting of the Spring. For those of you that don't know, IDSA stands for the Industrial Designers Society of America, and our student chapter at SFSU is dedicated to elevating the quality and impact of design, both here on campus and out in the professional world.

We Are All Designers

Any and all design specialties are welcome. There is a tremendous amount of common ground between the different design disciplines, let's share and learn from eachother.

Know Your Competition

It can be tough to get a job in design, especially right out of school. The best design students at SFSU can compete with students from the top design schools in the country... but this is not a given. There is lot to know (what are other students producing, what are professionals doing, what are hiring managers looking for, how are hiring trends likely to change by the time you are applying for a job...) and sharing our collective knowledge is just one of the many opportunities that can separate us from the annual masses of graduating designers.

Live Design

The San Francisco Bay Area holds a rich and thriving design community. There is a lot to learn outside of campus and a student status can offer financial savings and open doors to exclusive opportunities. Don't wait. It is vital that you take an active role in your education if you want to excel in design.

IDSA SFSU offers the following:

• Community
• Connections
• Events
• Opportunity

These will all be explained in detail at our first meeting. This will be a very exciting semester for design in San Francisco. There will be many major events in the coming weeks as well as valuable opportunities to get involved, learn outside of class, and prepare for employment as a designer.

Stop by and check us out:

Fine Arts Building, room 163 (next to the Wood Lab)
Wednesday, February 18th, 1-2pm

See you there!

Sincerely,
Thomas Deckert
President, IDSA SFSU

Get This Book

2009-02-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

Sketching User Experiences, by Bill Buxton, is one of those books that every designer should read. It is a page turner and an inspiring resource. The experience of reading it felt like a front-row seat throughout the entire semester of a design studio class. In many ways this book offers the quantity and quality of design education (thought processes, methodologies, tricks and techniques) that I always look for yet rarely find in any single design course. I strongly recommend you check out this book. It may not hook you at first. Give it a chance, and get past the cover, it will be worth it. If you are a student, and want to elevate your design education, do the math. This book costs nothing compared to the value it offers.

(image courtesy of www.billbuxton.com)

SFSU Industrial Design Outreach

2009-02-02T16:32:00.001-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Industrial Design Outreach Launches New User-Friendly Website With Web 2.0 Technologies.

SAN FRANCISCO, California – February 1, 2009 The Industrial Design Outreach (iDo) announced the launch of its new website, www.industrialdesignoutreach.org today. The new site utilizes web 2.0 technologies, which enables iDo to collaborate with design and experiential learning programs worldwide.

“The main objective of the new website is to incorporate web 2.0 technologies, market iDo to a world audience, and establish group collaboration on an international level,” said Holly Burton, creator of the new website.

IDo is a design program run by mentors from San Francisco State University under the direction of founding director and Associate Professor of Design, Martin Linder. Founded in 2003, iDo has been actively working within the San Francisco community to raise awareness about design education. The program’s first website was created in 2006 to expand iDo’s mission and efforts, then was re-designed in Fall 2007 to reach a wider audience beyond the San Francisco community. Now, working since Fall 2008, mentors have created a new site with the intent to market iDo to an international audience.

Through the new website, iDo and other experiential learning programs worldwide will finally be able to share and build upon each other’s ideas and methods. In addition, the website’s new networking capabilities will allow iDo supporters to interact directly with the iDo community.

The new website also has a new user-friendly look and feel catering to investors, educators, and students. “We have streamlined navigation, incorporated a series of templates that pertain to certain information, and devised a professional yet youthful color scheme,” said Burton. There is also an increase in curriculum examples, imagery, student galleries, production galleries, video, surveys, and scholarly articles.

iDo is committed to developing the next generation of creative thinkers though the interdisciplinary and experiential teaching of design. To learn more about Industrial Design Outreach (iDo), please visit http://www.industrialdesignoutreach.org or call 415-338-6525.

Interview Contact: Martin Linder, Founding Director
Telephone: 415-338-6525
Email: mlinder@sfsu.edu
http://www.industrialdesignoutreach.org
iDo - Industrial Design Outreach
1600 Holloway Avenue - FA 419
San Francisco, California 94132

Innovation Consumer Electronics Showcase

2009-01-28T12:15:00.000-08:00

The time is now and the place is here. Show off your skills or just browse others work, just make sure you take a look!!

::copy::

Innovative and unique consumer electronics designs will be featured in the Spring 2009 showcase in Innovation. This is not a competition; all qualifying submissions will be published. Please designate concepts and student work as such.

The submission deadline is February 20. Submitting is easy, simply email the following to k.designs@cox.net:

Project name
Design firm
Client (if any)
Web or email address to be published (one only)
Interesting statement of no more than 20 words about the product (not a product description)
Was this design a CES honoree and if so was it a Best of Show?
Image: 300dpi, cmyk, 5x7" (min), tiff preferred (large files can be sent via www.yousendit.com)
Credit card information for $450 (card number, expiration date, security code and name of cardholder)
Contact information for submitter (including full address)

Don't be left out of what is sure to be a must-read issue of Innovation. Please contact Karen Berube, managing editor, with any questions at k.designs@cox.net, or 703.860.4411, if you need to call in your credit card information.

Industrial Designers Society of America

email: jillr@idsa.org

phone: 703.707.6000

web: http://www.idsa.org

Green Urban Design for Railways!

2009-01-28T12:02:00.000-08:00

Many European countries have started to "green" their public transit systems and I think it looks amazing! Not to mention the practical applications. Check out the article on Inhabitat.

iDo – Fostering Creativity, Promoting Creativity, and Building Self-Confidence by Holly I. Burton

2008-12-04T10:26:00.001-08:00

As a first year graduate student, I began working with the Industrial Design Outreach (iDo) program in the fall of 2006. At that time, the program was three years-old and rapidly growing. As the end of the fall semester approached, students, like me, began looking forward to the spring semester with renewed motivation and inspiration. Under the influence of enthusiastic student volunteers, iDo was launched into a period of great success.

Spring 2007 marked a new era for iDo, the seeds of a new curriculum-the Community Bench Project, were planted. Conceptualized by Martin Linder, the founding director of iDo, the curriculum was designed by student members including: Dianna Silva, Michelle Steed, Clarissa Soong, Patricia Daugherty, Phillip La and Ryan Pugh. These highly motivated students helped to run the first Community Bench Project during the 2007/2008 academic year at San Francisco’s Thurgood Marshall Academic High School (TMHS) located in the Bay View/Hunters Point district. When iDo launched this unique exceptionally based design curriculum at TMHS, they were embraced by the community and given a dedicated studio on campus. Community support of this magnitude showed students that the project was something to be proud of, while also enhancing student morale, individual performance, academic achievement, and interpersonal relations.

As the days, weeks, and months passed, students who were once failing where now getting A’s and B’s. Students who were reticent became enthusiastic and students who struggled to learn were making unimaginable strides in knowledge acquisition, retention, and application. In one word, the experience was REMARKABLE. Because of these successes, iDo received an invitation to display the finished Community Bench at Young at Art show hosted by the De Young Museum of San Francisco in May 2008; iDo has also experienced an increase in opportunities to expand the program beyond San Francisco.

The first opportunity presented itself as the offer of a permanent home at TMHS, where an iDo inspired and dedicated industrial arts class would make a second Community Bench, during the 2008/2009 school year. The second opportunity was the conceptualization of a Kite Project, which connects design and literature through the use of experiential curriculum that engages creative analysis. And finally, opportunities presented themselves in the form of grants. Monies granted from The Miranda Lux Foundation and The Fear Not Foundation are making our current and future endeavors possible.

iDo is flourishing because of the generosity of funders, Martin Linder, and iDo mentors. Since launching the second Community Bench in October of 2008, twenty-four students have begun a remarkable journey of self discovery, which will forever impact their lives. Because of such success, the program is preparing to launch its third website-utilizing web 2.0 technologies, which will enable iDo to partner with design and experiential learning programs in countries like England, Korea, and Italy.

Ultimately, iDo would not be possible without its dedicated and hard working team from San Francisco State University. Their focus on curriculum development, marketing, product development, research, and recruitment have earned iDo invitations to other schools, speaking engagements across the country, and many individual and collaborative awards. Because of the many years of dedicated involvement by current and previous mentors, iDo will continue to grow and inspire students like myself to pursue careers in design, education, and community leadership.

For more information on the Industrial Design Outreach program please visit http://www.industrialdesignoutreach.org or contact Martin Linder at (415) 338-6525.

idsa%20submission.pdf

Cooper-Hewitt People's Design Award!

2008-10-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

Every year Cooper-Hewitt gives out National Design Awards, but do you agree with their choices? Now is the time for action! This year Cooper-Hewitt is giving out some special People's Choice Awards. You can nominate and cast votes but it all ends 6pm EST Tuesday night! That's right tomorrow! Get Your voting season started early with the Cooper-Hewitt People's Design Award!

via Gizmodo