A little friendly competition won't hurt

Every once in a while you meet some people who are so passionate about the things they do that it really is contagious and somehow it really motivates you to do more and do better. Because there's always more to do.

overflow

When is gathering information too much information? How do you know where to stop? Where does one story begin and the other story end? Drowning in heaps of new data everyday, researching, finding new findings that may or may not necessarily support your points, where does it end? The constant search becomes a tiring act, almost habitual, perpetual, never ending. Where does one stop to think, filter, and create? Being creative means thinking outside the information square. But there is so much information how does one breathe.

insight

Research is important, but experience is necessary.

My portfolio is finally finished. Please, take a look and enjoy!
www.carmenliu.com

Fresh stats!

More here about the recognition of industrial designers. It's nice that now they see that we too, are an important part of the team. This is why we lose designers in Canada going to the $tates. That and they can support companies like IDEO. However, on the flip-side, living in Canada is pretty not-so-bad.

There are more than 40,000 industrial designers in the United States. Most salaried industrial designers work in two sectors, manufacturing (11,730 workers) and professional, scientific, and technical services (7,570 workers). While fewer in number than other design workers (such as graphic designers or interior designers), industrial designers have higher salaries. In 2012, the annual median wage of industrial designers was $59,610

Although, on a different note, I am surprised, at the fact that the sectors that they found industrial designers in, are so... last century and traditional. I feel like today, we cover a broader set of industries. Either that, or I am too optimistic about the versatility and the usefulness of a designer in almost every industry.

http://www.arts.gov/news/news13/Industrial-Design-Report.html

Spooky action at a distance

I read an article about Einstein's theory about quantum entanglement and what he calls "spooky action at a distance" where two atoms are are in sync no matter if they were next to each other or across the world, and the change in one particle could change the properties of the other particle it was in sync with no matter how far away it was.

I'm not too sure I understood it entirely, but I enjoy that there is room for randomness and 'spontaneity' in science and that the world still remains a mystery.

read it here:
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~yikes/spooky_action.html

crossroads

...but don’t make the mistake of confusing “design” with “art.” I’d argue that there’s a difference, and it matters. Designers create solutions – the products and services that propel us forward. But artists create questions — the deep probing of purpose and meaning that sometimes takes us backward and sideways to reveal which way “forward” actually is. The questions that artists make are often enigmatic, answering a why with another why.

---John Maeda on "If Design’s No Longer the Killer Differentiator, What Is?"

Is it design or is it art? I really enjoy the space between the two. Design that makes you think, reconsider your values, changes directions. Even though I personally agree with his line of inquiry, I don't think it holds true to all industrial designers out there...
But I think it's more about the principles of art..

guilt or defiance?

When do we know we have enough? Where is the line drawn between sufficient and stuffed?

Just remember, when you throw things out or put things away --out of sight, it doesn't mean it's not there. There are landfills still overflowing, natural resources and water becoming more and more scarce, unsustainable production methods, manufacturing waste and pollution, ...every aspect of a product's life cycle has an impact and the way we live our lives encourage it.

So stop using cheap plastic, non-recyclable materials, and start using smarter products that are energy efficient for you and for the world to produce...and take only what you need.



Funny thing, in places that don't seem to have enough, they can't afford to be sustainable. A product that is eco-friendly or more energy efficient for them will be too expensive to buy. And in the places that have more than enough, they are struggling to make up for their abundance by being "more sustainable"!

Ever wonder that if the more intelligent we become, the more we may lend to perverse thinking?

All those creative people are the crazy ones pushing the envelope and are definitely thinking outside the box.

Design is more than just producing a product. It has ideas, it can tell a story. It can even help change the world. It is so multifaceted, you can bring it anywhere and its application will benefit its users.
really.

loop de loop

Do you find it interesting that sometimes we are heading backwards as we advance in technology. That we make things faster and smoother but at the same time we lose (tactile) feedback. Take sending an sms for example. Just the other day someone made a comment that texting was so much easier on an oldschool phone rather than these new touchscreen keyboards. You could secretly send a text to a friend with your phone still in your pocket (while the person talking to you is boring you to death) because you could feel for the buttons with your eyes closed.

Simple, clean, and efficient, only preserving the things we think we need. Did we choose the right things to keep?