I wish there is less 'hot air' of some people. For such light and heated air fuels ego that actually kills creativity and wisdom.

Quick post here after replying to a professor at the local university with regards to the college and the ergonomics talk that was held last week. I am still waiting for replies for now. I was late because of a misdirection and entered the lecture theatre 15 minutes late. So I wouldn't know what was the introduction. But basically, it was about how studies in human factors had turned around fortunes of a computer company and a comprehensive illustration of the design process with the inclusion of human factors. Mobility, individuality,credibity and aesthetics have all played a part in delivering a marketable and hot selling PC product, especially the notebooks and the netbooks. However I had a lot of questions about sustainability and the human factors that were mentioned. Throughout the talk though, my main impression was styling and branding appeared to be far more dominant than ergonomics. That was my overall feeling. I didn't seem to be hearing anything about how targetted consumers were interacting with the computers. I was hoping to listen more. Maybe the PCs have run out of new forms that are comfortable to use and carry, but I was looking for more than thinner notebooks and colours that sparkle to consumers. My PDA had ran out of batteries and I resorted to jotting points down on my handphone by thumb-typing brief notes.

Somewhere along the typing, I was also wondering how different brands would fare in ergonomics ? Dell, HP, Sony Vaio, Apple, Acer, Asus, Fujitsu et cetra. Can you think of one good computer that fits sustainability well along with a nice affordable price tag without the loud colours ? And also fits the physical usage by majority of the human species in the global sense ?

I often find the cheaper Notebooks heavy and the batteries do not last long. Why should comfort be restricted to the expensive models ? I have both cheapie computer that weighs like a brick and heats like an oven. (no joking here: it does feel like a mini oven. I could cook a pigeon egg on it. ); and a quite expensive one that is lighter, more fashionable and nicer to use. I had a good interesting time looking for a notebook so I know what kind of troubles I have been into if I wanted some machine that was good and 'cheap' during times of global financial crisis. It is still good to save more when times are unpredictable. I bet many consumers are thinking along the same lines. The problem of using a notebook has not exactly been eradicated. It doesn't really fit on your lap nicely. Neither does it allow you to read the screen as you type on your lap or on the table. There is a problem of damaging your eye sight. But why is the form of the notebook remains basically the same ? I recall having once seen a detachable keyboard off a notebook. It was a Japanese make, but I have forgotten the brand. I had wanted to get it but the last set was already booked. Since then, I have never come across anything like that. Neither is there any new gadgets that allow one to use the notebook as a fun and healthy tool.

Quick typing here and this is actually a draft but I will return to the topic soon as they give me a reply !

I have just posted a quick reply over at LinkedIn under Rob Curedale's Poll at his Product Design Group. I wrote that the ID design process itself can be totally reinvented, which is the real power of problem solving. --the abililty to use knowledge and creativity to come up with solutions regardless how the factors of production/circumstance are given.

If we base on the polls that is given at Linkedin at his group, then what I have been believing is correct. Problem solving skills are actually important right across different industries. It's the specific type of problem solving that is crucial and that defines the profession. In this case, the other important skill of the designer is actually styling, making the object desirable yet useful. Hence I was a little surpriced that styling was ranked least because the another prime function of ID is to be able to make anything look attractive and set that as another selling point. What is missing in the choice of the polls is 'ethical responsibility and another is 'character'. We do not want egoistical people who seem to be focusing on designing things that stands out for themselves or the designers only. Maarten Scheffer had stated some of the most important abilities of a designer. Indeed a sharp problem solver sees ahead of others, plans simply, and execute strongly. Which is why I placed a very importance on brain power and the special ability to see a problem in different ways. This is not exactly a skill that can taught. Design is an ability to come up with a strong product differentiation. How can you be radically different, or at least reasonably different when everyone or most people are taught in the same/similar mode ??

Something to think about, isn't it ?

It actually applies to a lot of other professions in the industry too. And really it does make educational establishments think too.

I am a late blogger. And so I am a real novice in this area. Not too bad setting up so many sites in a matter of 2/3 weeks under a busy schedule; and I enjoy it most of the time except with my minphf blog of design sites at blogger. It IS a real pain the neck a billion times over for some oddball reason. All I wanted was a plain workable site with page tabs and working comments function. But somehow they do not work on that site, if I also wanted a clean looking design. I had thought getting templates was easy. It was. But not under what I wanted and I wasted a lot of time looking for 'the one'.

I bet a million times the latter is hard but looking for a working blogger template appears to be finding that fine needle in the haystack. I gave up and decided to stick to the current site by just taking off the comments function which was malfunctioning in a hellish way. Besides hardly a lot of people do comments on these kind of issues. So I added an emailer on that site instead. I will go set up a wordpress blog for all the discussions for all the blogs I have there for a more interactive and intense exchange of thoughts. For my virtual diaries, I will leave the comment function on.

Thoughtful living isn't that hard to achieve. All we need is to be less selfish and spare some thoughts for others. In return, one will be rewarded more than one has put in. But most people fail to see this. And out of self protection they usually do quite harmful acts in the name of defence.

Something well worth the time to ponder about.

We need Change. But that Change has to come from everyone doing every bit to improve lives.

Recently on facebook, someone discussed the faithful topic on ethics and if the good will receive the good and the bad will get their retribution. I thought it was crystal clear, but obviously many people do not have the positive mindset or the patience to see the karma in all things or deeds we humans do. All living beings create design. Regardless of quality and ethics, every design decision will invariably lead to a result. The reason why the good cannot achieve the good may well be a flaw in the thinking process. It may be a trivial small one that one has carelessly neglected. Hence it makes it seems that the good does not receive the good and the bad appears to win it all. Given the right methodlogy, one could achieve one's goals. But if ethics is ignored, in due course, life will treat you what you put in because the natural laws of life is disrupted.

Global warming is one very real example. The lure of materialism has thwarted the way we think. If we could have the guts to change the 'norm' and daringly change the way we consume goods and services, I believe we can at least slow down the effects of global warming drastically.

The very first step is to discard the fallacy that the bad usually gets the upper hand. That would be a giant step forward.

Had an interesting conversation albeit the thread was a little off shot.
Nonetheless worth the time to add in quickly.

short quickie note:

seems like most people, at least the old timers appear to think that virtual 3D and wood are safer working materials. There are quite a number of people already using other 'scraps' to make rough models years ago.

Sometimes the conventional process of making models are just one way of retricting the mind to venture into other design methods. But that is natural.

The computer model making is just a way of communicating it over the internet. Well personally to me it is. It does not give you the actual tactile feel and neither does it really give you the exact spatial experience. Besides prolonged usage of the PC isn't exactly healthy
too.

Thinking about it, ID can be quite health-harzardous itself. : )

Elfinic me,
Karen Fu

---

.....

Am really busy with work all around but if I do get round to dig out the references, there are people who indeed are using different materials / even scrap to work on draft models before using formal materials/3d printing etc for the final.

I too believe in inventing methods to innovate. I do not rigidly believe in that conventional few, especially if the team or the designer is able to adapt and see different perspectives.

Cheers,
Karen Fu


... if you stick to the standard way of thinking.
But I think even in the process that you've stated, if you look into it, that is not exactly 'a tiny fraction' (refering to the conventional method of model making using not a lot of materials). If you are really good at it (visualisations, investigating forms etc), you don't exactly need a lot of mockups. I often see people making far more mock ups than they really need. They don't improvise. Once finished, they just add on to another mockup and so on. It is a waste of materials. When you know how to see and note your investigations, you don't need that much materials.

Research and findings is a must. But I do encourage improvision. And smart improvision doesn't eat up design quality. Its the quality of thinking that makes the cut. You can do a lot of experimentaions of forms and functions, user interactions; and do not utilise lots and lots of foam or 'harmless' jelutongs. Many other materials from so-called scraps can be utilised too.

Probably out of the usual, but I do believe there are others who do the similar. Just that its not that many. They still get their things in -- regardless patented or not.

Karen Fu
ps: its like people who think they buy environmental friendly reusable bags are good for sustainabilty. It does help but the actual way to sustain envirponment is to actually use what you really need to use
and cut off what you don't need. I don't think these bags make a dramatic difference because consumerism to the brim is very real.

I have just found a good gadget that I could use with anyone who likes my site and make more new friends around the world -- a community toolbar. I've stuck some of the sites for now. The components can be modified from time to time and updates could be done through the toolbar regardless where you are on the virtual net. Its pretty useful. I have yet to learn what this toolbar could offer. But for now I just like the functions on this application and I hope others would like it too. :)

Click on image to download my sites on a toolbar:

toolbar powered by Conduit

This is a post that I made last year 18 November at Sampa.com (which I do not really use it at all because of the poor user interface)and I will transfer it here:

I am trying to find the best site for blogs. This seems to be the one...But I will go see how my other sites could fit in.


The world has certainly come to a huge turmoil.Perhaps that before the environment could take us all,the human made disaster of greed itself is unsustainable on another hand. While global recession is setting in with the larger countries coming down to its knees on their economy, smaller countries
like Singapore will have to brace up and make the necessary steps to move on.

Change is needed and its going to be everywhere.How should we as ordinary citizens of the world make the incremental changes to alter the world for the better ?

Economy wise: major car manufacturers are facing bankruptcies after the banks. Citigroup has just announced that they are laying off 20% of their global workforce.While this is almost anticipated, I cannot help to think
that we need a personal change before we can embark on the larger one.Thinking processes must change on a micro level as well as on a macro level.

More later.

As of today, Citigroup has already shrunk to a fraction of what it used to be.
Along with Citi, other industries are following suit. Nothing like this was expected. But I really think that the underlying problem of these huge capitalist establishments are actually stemmed from long term greed.Should capitalism be changed ? Design is a way of thinking. Well at least from my own modest definition, it is. Design is a strategic way to solve problems, and not repeating it. Neither is it about morphing into another form, which we have witness in many so-called solutions.

Whether we are in any form of self-destruction is really predictable. The way I see it is if we are daring to change the form that we have always been ascustomed to....

Dear online folks, whoever bumps onto this nth blog would hopefully finds this interesting. I've started a string of catch-ups with the current web 2.0 technology with tiny pockets of time in between juggling with work, housework and homework. The virtual journey has been pretty fruitful albeit problematic as usual with people like me. I thought I would hate blogger until this fleeting moment of time that I've found a pretty though not the usual design sense of aesthetics for a diary blog.

It is really out of my usual style. But I like this nostalgic look with a cuppa and a traditional fountain pen for a change. I like to think how this format would work for a more down to earth, traditional, or rather a more reserved look for a not exactly reserved piece of blog.

So to bang this off, I hope my prospective netizens would like this new cosy place on line and join me with a heartwarming sense of thought on how design could add to a thoughtful living.