UW Design Show 2010

If you're in Seattle, stop on by, if not, fly up here and then stop on by!

The new superpower?

My wife and I drove home to see my family in Nebraska for this last Christmas from Seattle. I've called the Pacific Northwest my home now for eight years and our population certainly considers itself forward thinking when it comes to minimizing our impact upon the planet. They also generally, and I STRESS generally (cuz we actually have a lot of cornhuskers living up here who share my perspective) consider the midwest to be backwards when it comes to energy consciousness and environmental concern. Here in Seattle we generate most of our electricity from hydroelectric power which, though it may cut the heads off a few salmon, is generally a "green" technology. I am designing an electric car at the moment and love being able to squash the "electricity comes from coal so its just as bad as combustion engines" argument by stating the source of our power.

After my trip I started thinking that wind power could become to the Midwest what hydroelectric is to the Northwest. During our trip I noted that as I moved further east from the coast there was an exponential increase in the amount of wind turbines along the way. Wyoming was definitely the hot spot. I must say that even as a native heartlander I was impressed with the progressive stance these folks had taken on energy independence.

If pure tree-hugging sentiment isn't enough for those in the midwest to adopt green energy solutions then perhaps economically it would make sense. I recently stumbled upon this map below:

As you can see, my homeland promises to become what the middle east is to fossil fuel once widespread wind energy technology is feasible... Notice the potential of Nebraska, and North and South Dakota for that matter, even when compared to the "windy city" to the east... Once we stop paying farmers government subsidies to destroy their surplus crops we can use that acreage to harvest something that could truly benefit our whole country. A great deal of those corn crops we produce are just made into high-fructose corn syrup that contributes to our national obesity epidemic anyhow...

That's my piece, clean energy NOW!

My little girl...

She's reawakened an interest in poetry for me...

I love her.

Before the natal waterslide Immersed you in the pool of birth, 

I dreamed your pageant on this earth As cherub, tomboy, scholar, bride.  

My heart's your plaything, woman child, Your windup toy, your music box - 

For of its massive, steel-bolt locks The combinations have you dialed.

Got a minute?

We launched our senior capstone project a week ago and I have decided to use this year's Michelin Challenge as the foundation for my project. The challenge is to design a vehicle for the year 2021. I am going to be focusing on small commuter vehicles because I think they will dramatically increase in popularity over the next decade. RIght now I am in the research phase, collecting data and observations. As part of that, I have designed a survey that deals with people's impressions of microcars. If you have ten minutes to spare, please help me out by taking the survey, I will reward you handsomely with my undying respect and adoration! You know you want it... click the link below.

TAKE MY SURVEY

Prosthetics project makes Seattle Times

Sketchcercise

More practice, this is using a style called "canson." Chrome is tough, but this was a really fun exercise...

A breakthrough?

Between some of the help Ahn has been giving me in class and some sweet online tutorials at idsketching.com I have been working toward a new technique of sketching. It is a much more loose, emotional and dynamic style, important for an industrial designer. It is also much less focused on the details and mechanics of the object in question. I have been plagued by this need to make super detailed drawings that make sense mechanically and from a manufacturing standpoint but have lacked a certain shimmer, if you know what I mean. This drawing is the first of the new style. It is for our upcoming mousetrap car competition. I still have a long way to go, but it is so different from what I've done in the past that I felt I had to share it with the interwebs.

A guiding quote

Rachel and I did some exploring up near the Canadian border this weekend. We visited an amazing museum in Bellingham called Mindport that focuses on interactive art and exhibits ($2 entry fee, if you're there, it is a must see). On one of the walls of the museum I found a framed piece of 8.5 x 11 with the following written in an unassuming 12 point italic:

"The first enslaving illusion is the idea that people are born to be consumers and that they can attain any of their goals by purchasing goods and services."

"What people do or make but will not or cannot put up for sale is as immeasurable and as invaluable for the economy as the oxygen they breathe."

Ivan Illich

Toward a History of Needs