Oscar Lee's Blog

Bottled water is something that I encountered on a daily bases. However, after I watched 'The story of bottled water' by Annie Leonard. I realised the story behind a simple bottled water goes far beyond just its appearance level. Firstly, it's a waste of natural resource. All the factories that using unrenewable e.g. petrol to produce the plastic bottles are heavily polluting the Earth's nature environment. When I buy a bottle of water, I'm encouraging them to stab mother Nature few more times!. Secondly, the economic flow and marketing strategy that go behind a bottle of water is a well-known fact. Thirdly, the so all recycle scheme is just another scandal and smoke screen that the fat merchant established in order to play illusion on consumer thus fatten his pocket with cash. All those used bottles were 'down-cycle' instead or 'recycle'. I discovered this fact from reading the book 'cradle to cradle' by William McDonough & Michael Braungart. It's totally irresponsible to dump all the toxic waste into the water resources of any third world country. Sadly, I can't understand myself why I still buy the bottled water or dinks occasionally. I suppose impulse buying behaviour was part of it. I grew up in Hong Kong and it's a very convenience place to get bottled water. There is always a convenience store selling them nearby where you're standing. I made a promise to myself, I'll stop buying bottle drinks from today and fill my bottled water up as often as possible as a consumer. In a design perspective, this problem perhaps can link to a PSS design opportunity that can rectify this ill behaviour. There is no mean to eliminate the corrupted merchants, however I will make sure any products that I design will not fall into the same trap again. After watching this video I own up to the responsibility by not buying any bottled drinks and think of the moral of the story of the bottled water whenever I design something so that I will not make the same mistake twice.

Here is the PDF version of my rationale, feel free to download if you're interested


!!DOWNLOAD LINK!!

Applications on the the HYDRA water system and how it can be used in real disaster situation

HYDRA is the final solution of a fast, clean and compact RWF. It can be easily sealed at the top and consist of a water filter.

On doing this project, it makes me realize how a simple motivation can change and benefit lots of human lives. Recently, geologist claimed that there would be more large scale earthquake and earth crust activities in the upcoming years. My research topic is on earthquake and this project engages my university work to real life. Also, by knowing the fact that there will be more upcoming earthquake, I’m motivated to get my product better and better and aim for actually manufactured. I want to help and save humans who trapped in earthquake. It’s this bit of passion that lit up my heart and persuade further and further into this project.

Upon doing on this project, my biggest benefits are in the research phrase and the refine of the design. During the research phrase, I watched lots of video, visited a lot of website and other external sources. My mind hasn’t been broadened and my heart has been warmed. While watching the interviews with one of the victim’s and his relatives, Jian Zhan, my tears fell down. He was trapped under ruins after the earthquake for three days. He was determined to survive, he hold on to the last moment until the rescuers got him out and he passed away. The whole rescue team was devastated, viewer who saw the news were heart brokered, and his relatives were emotional broken down. It’s this piece of information that motivated me in this project. If, just if someone has already decided better jacks or better rescue tools, would he survive and be alive? I don’t really know the answer but, I promise myself I have to change the world. I don’t want to see the same trauma happen to human twice. This research doesn’t only help me in studio but other aspect of lives as well. If Jian was determent to survive in that situation, I, as a healthy urban young adult, I should be able to overcome challengers in front of me.

My second insight in this project is the research phrase. This project taught me there is always better alternative out there. It’s always a improvement area comparing to your original design. The folding water sealing idea doesn’t come up until late, very very late. However, it was the motivation that I got at the research phrase encourages me to change my design. This may not be the best result, however, I did push my guts to the furthest and I’m happy with the change at the end. It was a much quicker solution. Again, I guess once you have the motivation, you have that flame, that fire inside you; you aren’t really going to be scared off at any challenges. For that, I’ll take this flame and carry on into my next project and the next one and until I can make this world better with all the energy I have.

Sustainability, democratic, equality are all important aspects of consideration while designing new product. Designing a product that is social responsible is one of the most basic criteria. Helping disable people to improve their lives by either improving their social status, or design that help to end poverty are all social responsible design. Again it's a balance between form and function that best deliver the desire result. From the six episodes of 'Designing for Life', it inspired me to take responsibility as an industrial design student. It's our duties to bring better equality to all demographic users. It's our duties to bring equality and sustainability into the society and our next generations.
It inspired me to treat every decision regarding design seriously. From a simple line to a project, we should treat the project with respect, it's not only a task for handing in your work on time in university. It's more like a commitment to a particular life style. You have to embrace this life-style in order to develop a socially responsible philosophy. It's only through this personal philosophy looking at the world you can produce a product that have positive impacts on the world. Through this process, a person can truly be considered as a designer and this journey can take years to master.
Watching the contestants getting eliminated each week takes me back to my first year studio. I start to thank all the lectures who gave us the harsh judgement, all the almost seem to be impossible tasks. It's lucky that we have the leisure to learn some of the basic knowledge in university rather than learning on the work-site. Reality is harsh and I don't think you will be given a second opportunity in real life work field. Therefore, it's much matter to have someone yielding at you in uni here rather than making mistake than can cost you your job, massive finical lost or even worst of all, a human life. Once again, all lectures that comment on my study journey, thank you!

Individual Outcome Reflection
After brain storming, it's considered improvement can be separated into three different phrases for the IVAR chair. The first one is general improvement. This can be either redesigning the chairs, adding function and vales onto the chairs or simply can be a retail reorganisation.
The first concept is to add cushion seat and padding on the IVAR chair. Since it's a dining chair, a reasonably long using time is expected out of this chair. Comfort can be an issue and base on the current design, it can be assumed that it's not too comfortable. By adding cushion, on the seat and backrest, it will certainly improve the life of the chair. Secondly, make the chair foldable and easy to store away. This concept needs to be investigated more due to strength and safety regulation issues. The final idea for general improvement involve selling the individual parts instead of the whole package at IKEA store. The chairs contain different material. Stress over strength will create a different life-span on different parts. By selling individual parts at IKEA store, user can replace broken part instead of throwing the whole chair out. IKEA has already setup a similar system for other furniture e.g. BILLY series bookcase. Implementing this idea on the IVAR chair would have little to none cost.
The second aspect of improvement involves physical-attachment to the IVAR chair. This can be the ergonomically advancement of the chair. It can be extra function of the chair or changing the physical using context of the chair. Concept 1 is adding more authentic cushion and padding to the chair. This cushions and padding are highly customisable. Concept 2 adds value to the current chairs and change the using context of the chairs. We may as well use the fact that it's a uncomfortable chair. By adding a adjusting table to the chair, It can be turned into a lecture chair. It helps keeping student awake during lecture. However, the OH&S issues need to be investigate deeper in this situation. Concept 2 attaches a sophisticate backrest to the chair. This backrest is made out of memory foam thus allow best comfort for different users.
The last aspect of improvement involves emotional-attachment to the IVAR chair. Concept 1 turn the subject into a drawing canvas. Allow children to elaborate their creativity onto it. Second concept added a acrylic photo frame to the seat. User can put their treasures moment to the chairs. Concept 3 made use of the space underneath the chairs by adding a toy-box to it. Children can now store their toys in this treasure box.
After attaining this Charette, I realised a lot can be done in order to maximise the life-time of the chairs. As a conclusion, "designing for what have already been designed" seems like the goal for our generation.

After participated the Charette as an industrial student, I realised the important of product life-cycle. As an industrial designer, it's critical that he must understand the general product life cycle of its kind. It's through this understand, an industrial designer can pro-long the life of his design either through physical-attachment or emotional attachment. It's a trend that designers are expected to be able to design for what have already been designed. It means adding value, adding function without reducing the form aspect of the already existed product. We're at the tipping point of harvesting nature resource, sustainability has became the top priority in today's design consideration. Some designs, however due to current limitation e.g. economic aspect, political aspect etc are creating problem for our environment. It's our generation goal to reduce these problem when we're designing beyond these products. Again, "designing for what have been designed" is what I believe in.

Secondly, group work in this Charette provided me an insight of what can be done as a team. Through the time limit given, it's impossible for a single man to complete every tasks. However, with some level of management, tasks can be best allocated to the people who are skilful at that aspect. Also, it's through this management process, people who are more willing to accomplish their allocated tasks. In this way, we can minimise wasting of time due to the fact some member don't know what they're doing. We can control the quality of the outcome by establishing a team foreman. By communication between the team foreman, we can let the process run smoothly. Only the foreman is needed when modification occurs during the process while other group members can keep on working on their allocated tasks. At the end of the day, it's all about effectiveness and efficiency that counts.

Just how much longer can our mother nature survive? From the documentary "The 11th Hour" we can see all the cause and result that heavily affect our mother planet. We can see the "globalisation created by the human mind, the mind that have evolved and have the ability to reflect back onto ourselves; to take stock from our own existence." However, if all the evidences are so obvious, why are we doing anything to reduce our carbon emission. That questions have many elements. Anyway, from the micro view, seems like we can't do much. How about if we start from a micro view to save the planet? Things like recycling, things like efficiently using electricity, things like using minimum water resource to do our laundry and dishes. I personally think that we really can make a difference if we do care our day to day living. If we pay attention to our daily consumption of nature resources, looks like a lot of things we are having are luxury. It's time to ask ourselves, do we really need that to survive? Again, as an industrial design student, I think it's time to consider helping in saving "the collapse of our eco-planet system and the search of out sustainable future". As a new product come out, it has its own life-cycle. Can we not created a new product but rather extended and reuse the old things instead? Can we bring old product into a new life-cycle? We're at our "tipping point" as Malcolm Gladwell suggested. It's at risk that we are affecting our next generation' life. "They're shouting at us, what are you doing!" I believe that our generation, as an industrial designer can really make a different. I believe that our priority design goal is to design for the already designed. I believe that as long as we're part of nature, we always need to respect her, help her and sustain her.

Design is everywhere is our society. From the moment you wake up, you’re constantly engage with design. However, not too many people realize that they are looking at these products as a consumer side perspective. Most people just look at the product and say, “yeah, that’s fine, that should do the job I need to do.” Little do they know that lot of thoughts had gone into that ‘fine’ product. As City Rail advertising slogan suggested ‘A lot have gone into a forgettable trip.’ Consumers purchase products that satisfied their need, help them on a current task or solve a problem in their life. Thus products that surround a person indicated the style of the person, the mental capability of the person and last but not least, the preference of the person. A successfully designed product can engage the target users that they have a feeling ‘Of course it’s designed this way, what other way can it possibly be!’ It’s through continues engagement with a particular products, users can figure out what they really want, who they are and who they want to be. On the other hand, designers seek out the world partly from the consumer’s perspective and as an outsider that constantly asking themselves why this product likes that. It’s only through practice and experience designer can design a successful product. The product speaks for the designer. It illustrates style (form). The product should be creating a harmony instead of chaos in the given target context. Also the mental capability (thoughtfulness) of a designer can be seen via the product he/she designed. How is the product put together? Has the product solved the users’ problem? These elements all required in-depth thinking from the designer. All of this can be seen everywhere, anytime because design is all around us.

Hmm, so I guess I'm kinda green?? Rite guys? HA HA!