Monday, April 19, 2010

The Drill

In olden times, prior to all of the digital latitude that we now enjoy parked in front of computer screens clicking and dragging, we had a great deal of fun, that is, with pencils, ink, markers, pastels and straight edges, on, get this, colored paper. This type of commercial, industrial oriented art, had a fun and satisfaction all its own. We stood before drawing boards, sometimes in smoky rooms, held the media in our hands, and created, all without the benefit of the "undo" command.

The above sketch rendering, as it was referred to, was a regular in my portfolio, in the days when a portfolio was a narrow black leather bag with handles that you protected and hauled around like the family treasure. If you backed up your work, you shot slides (what's a scanner?). On seeing this drawing, an industrial designer who I greatly admired once remarked that he liked it very much. He said it appeared that "you got in there, you did your thing, and you got out." I took that as a compliment.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Form and Fit, Part 2

Here is another shining example of three dimensional product design, par excellence. I can guarantee you, if you are designing flatware, it is going to present a lot of challenges. Can you imagine what is involved in designing a high performance automobile?! But, it is oh so worth it. This new Porsche Boxster looks amazing whether it is sitting in the grass, or moving at 170 mph. What a feat. Yes, this is impressive design.

By the way, through the miracle of Photoshop, and digital manipulation, the casual observer would never suspect that there were three other cars parked in the background, right adjacent to the silver wonder above.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Form and Fit


Having worked in industrial design for the last two decades, and having worked prior to that in product engineering, can one help but appreciate the triumph that is excellent car design?! As a designer, I ought to be enthusiastic when I see good product design, knowing full well the difficult challenges of bringing a three dimensional object into the world via mass production. It's a bear. Few products can turn a head, or capture the imagination like good car design.

The form. The fit. The finish. The color. It's a wow, at any speed.